Hooked On A Feeling
by Shadow Wolfboy
Summary: It isn't all cheese and crackers for the dynamic duo of Zootopia's finest. Especially when echoes of the past ripple to bring forth revelations of the effects they have on the future. While it may seem like a normal day to start with, everything changes when the song-bird brings forth a new song to change how Nick sees the world. Rated T, and do I own Zootopia? No, No I do not.
1. Painful History

_Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_

 _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_

 _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_

 _Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga_

 _I can't stop this feeling,_

 _Deep inside of me..._

 _Girl, you just don't realize..._

 _What you do to me_

Nick Wilde groaned loudly and grit his teeth, sleepily slapping at his alarm clock, missing the snooze button by a bit as he kept trying to hit it with his eyes closed. Finally after the third attempt, he opened his eyes a crack and slapped it with more force than necessary, slumping back into his bed and shut his eyes, easily slipping back into his dreamy world.

 _Hey! (Hey!)_

 _What's the matter with your mind, and your sign and oohhhhhh!_

 _Hey! (Hey!)_

 _Nothin's the matter with your head baby, find it..._

 _Come on and find it_

 _Hey with it, baby, 'cause you're fine and your mine and_

 _You look so divine..._

 _Come and get your love!_

 _Come and get your looooove!_

"Five more minutes..." Nick groaned, tapping the snooze button. As much as he loved that song, he wanted at least a few more minutes rest before he was supposed to get up to meet Judy at her apartment.

 _Knock knock knock knock!_

The young fox growled, taking his alarm clock and chucking it over his shoulder, where it smacked into his wall.

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Nick grumbled to himself as he sat up, realizing it was actually someone at his door. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked at his clock which had landed conveniently right side up so he could see what time it was.

 _5:52 AM_ ...he was supposed to be up thirty-two minutes ago!

"Oh crap... Carrots." Nick's eyes went wide as he jumped out of bed with such airtime that Judy would have been proud, if not for her literally almost about to kick his door down as he opend it up hastily. "I'm up, I'm up!"

"Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick." Judy sighed, shaking her head and smiled a bit despite herself, her face turning serious. "We really need to straighten this out, this is the third time this week. We've been at this for almost a year together now, don't you want to keep yourself in the force?"

Nick blinked, nodding and his face turned serious. "Of course I do. Look Carrots, I'm sorry. There's just a lot going on...you know..."

He sighed, letting her in and became quiet again as he slipped off his shirt in front of her. While they had indeed grown closer over the past year, closer than they had been during the nighthowler incident, Judy still let a small blush grace her features as she averted her eyes as Nick started stripping tiredly as he made his way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself when he reached his boxers and a few seconds later Judy heard the shower running.

"Nick..." Judy called out softly, starting up the coffee maker and sighed as the aroma started filling up his apartment.

"Yeah, Fluff?" Nick replied, sounding more awake due to the steaming shower.

"...Do you want to go to Harley and Puddin's Diner later? You could use a good bug burger." She asked, leaning against his counter and played with her fingers, trying to pick out any remaining non-existent dirt.

"What's the occassion?" Nick asked, the shower turning off and a few minutes later he stepped out in his uniform pants and a white tank-top.

"Nick..." Judy said softly, pouring the fox a steaming cup of finished coffee, walking up to him as he pulled on his button up shirt. As he accepted the cup with thanks, she started tying his tie. "I may not have lost a parent, or even... have gone through what you have growing up with just your Mom. But..." Nick frowned, his brow furrowing while Judy laid a paw on his cheek and stared straight into his eyes. "Nicolas Wilde, despite what you think, you're not alone. You have me, you have Finn, you have Clawhauser... your Mom. You don't have to hide all these feelings, they are NOT a weakness, believe me."

"I do, Carrots." Nick spoke up softly after a sip of his coffee with an appreciative moan of energy seeping into his body. "But locking up all my emotions and pulling them out to whatever fits the situation best... that's all I've ever known."

Judy bit her lip, stepping back after realizing their muzzles were inches apart despite the height difference. The mutual feeling of slight disappointment hung in the air but quickly dissapated when Judy cleared her throat.

"Yes well... like I said, you don't have to shoulder this alone. Don't try to tough it out, you have friends like me willing to make sure you don't have any reason to hide it or to bottle it all up. Promise me that you will confide in me, Finn or your Mom if it gets to be too much."

Nick looked down at the mug of coffee, swirling the half-finished drink and his face was deep in thought.

"Alright, I promise, Judy." Nick smiled up at her eventually, and for once it wasn't his usual con-artist smirk or his fake mask of happiness. For once in the few times of his entire life, it was a true genuine heart-warming smile.

"Good." Judy sighed, smiling and happy that they were able to agree on this touchy subject. "Hurry up and brush your teeth, killer, we need to leave if we want to get to work by 6:45." for added effect of teasing her partner, she wrinkled her nose which caused him to laugh.

"Haha, alright alright."

* * *

"Delgato, Francine, Tundra Town." Chief Bogo spoke up after going over the usual morning rituals that went on in the Bull Pen. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, reading off each of the pairs for the day, giving them the cases that were currently bulking up the file cabinets. After the nighthowler incident, crime had seemed to take a break to allow everyone to recover. While it was indeed strange and slightly comforting that even the criminals knew when to back off, it only made Judy and the others even more uneasy since that meant in the break all the would-be criminals had plenty of time to plot out heists, murders or worse...

Pair by pair, each left with their own assignments until only Judy and Nick were left with the Chief. He cleared his throat, taking off his glasses and they both knew something was wrong. As Nick had pointed out to Judy on one of their bets when he first started, he mentioned that whenever the Chief took his glasses off, it was a sign of some bad news to come.

"Officer Hopps, will you give me and Officer Wilde a moment, please?" Chief asked, his voice strangely forced.

Judy's ears twitched, but she made no comments about the matter as she simply nodded and got up, giving Nick a fleeting look before shutting the door behind her. Bogo looked Nick over a long minute before sighing and rubbed his eyes, as if he were exhausted. Truth be told, he actually looked it.

"...Sir?" Nick asked, sitting up straighter.

"You're not in trouble, Wilde." Bogo spoke up after a few minutes. He held up a small envelope, the seal of wherever it was from had been broken. "I did not read it, I respected your privacy that much. However, with the... incident a few months back, we took a few more steps to make sure we don't get any more exploding mail." Nick nodded. "I am unsure why they sent it to the station instead of your house directly but... here you are."

He handed the fox the envelope with an unreadable expression as Nick pulled out the paper and began to read. However with each word he read, his eyes grew wider, his heart started to pound in his chest until it almost felt like it hurt, his breath grew shallow and he could have sworn he had multiple heart attacks. He clenched his hand, his claws digging into his paw as the paw holding the paper shook. Bogo raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice for once without his gruff edge.

"I...I'm..." Nick began, but Bogo held up a hoof.

"It is your business, not mine." He said gently, not wanting to invade in his privacy.

"I'm... I'm a father." Nick said, his voice shaking from mixed emotions. Bogo was visibly stunned, he knew it was from the orphanage right off the edge of Sahara Square. He had honestly expected it to be from one of the children who wanted to write to the Officer as a pen-pal of sorts. He and Judy once stopped by there a few shifts ago to cheer up some of them due to the children always wanted to see a real officer.

"I'm a father..." Nick choked out, his breathing growing harder and he clutched at the desk, his vision starting to dim a bit. Bogo gave him a light pat on the back to keep him from fainting. "T-They said..."

He was unable to speak as he shot up from his desk, trying to make a break for the bathroom however he realized he wouldn't make it and bent over the trashcan to heave. Ah great... his breakfast looked lovely this morning too...

"Wilde..." Bogo spoke softly, giving a few gentle pats on the back as Nick heaved again.

Nick didn't respond, shaking as if he were going through a withdrawl. He shut his eyes tightly, swallowing hard as he tried to keep the rest of his stomach down. Letting out a shaky breath, he struggled with his emotions. Biting his lip, he remembered what Judy said, about not bottling up his emotions.

"...I-I'm a father..." He repeated for the third time, letting out a nervous laugh. "How am I supposed to be a father when my own wasn't even around?"

And the Chief knew he was trying to bring up his emotional walls again. And he let him, this was a matter Officer Wilde had to see through for himself, any kind of prodding into the matter would only make it worse. All he could do was offer his own advice as a father.

"Nick..." Chief Bogo said as softly as he could, kneeling next to the fox, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault." Bogo attempted to be sincere, but since he was so used to being the gruff C.O., he... may have come off a bit as uncaring. "Nick, listen to me. I have two children myself."

Nick blinked, looking up at him with an expression of utter loss. This had hit him harder than he wanted to admit out loud, Bogo could tell that much from the way his fur bristled and he swallowed hard repeatedly.

"Loves of my life. But... their mother and I, we no longer saw eye to eye and had to divorce soon after my second child was born." Bogo told him. "Your father may not have been there for your childhood, and you may have missed out on a bit of your own kin's but... you have a chance now to do what you couldn't have yourself. Be there for your child. Make them happy, give them the happiness they deserve. Believe me, Children have a way of worming into your heart and make you the happiest mammal on earth." He chuckled softly, fond memories coming back before he dismissed them.

Nick was silent still, looking at him for a long while. But whether it was from his still being in shock or from not being able to find the words, the buffalo was unsure.

"I'm no good at this kind of thing, kind of why my marriage fell apart. But this isn't about me, it's about you." Bogo stood up, helping Nick off of his knees. "Take a mandatory week off to get all this sorted out, starting now, no exceptions. Understood?"

The fox nodded, unsure of what to say as his mouth had run dry.

"Good, Dismissed. Hopps?" Chief cleared his throat, the bunny officer coming in with her ears laid back and she discreetly wiped her eyes, but the Chief respected her pride enough to ignore the gesture and nodded. "Light patrol duty for today, keep your phone on at all times and if Officer Wilde should need anything, you will make that your priority, understood? I hate to jinx us all, but with as little crime in Zootopia we have now, I wouldn't expect much to happen. But if something should, get it done by the book and do not let your personal feelings get in the way."

"Yes Sir." Judy nodded, giving a small salute, her expression serious.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Officer Hopps, go ahead and escort Wilde home and start on your patrol. I want a report first thing tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

Chief Bogo shut the door after Nick walked out, leaving the two alone. Nick busily trained his eyes at the floor, as if his staring would melt a hole he could crawl into and drown his sorrow while Judy cleared her throat, stepping closer and laid a gentle paw on his arm.

"Nick..." She spoke softly and he visibly flinched at her touch and the silence broken, though he made no move to back away, she bit her lip as so many things came to mind but she couldn't figure out which to start with. "...I'll take you home, just take it easy and rest for a bit, watch some cartoons or something to relax. I'll be home soon before you know it."

"Relax...?" Nick repeated, as if it were a foreign subject to him, he laughed. "Carrots, how can I relax when I have a son who's been locked up in an Orphanage for six years?"

"Nick." Judy spoke with a sterner note, but still gentle as she squeezed his arm affectionately. "Please, just relax, no more hiding how your feelings. Remember what I said this morning? Please..." She bit her lip, looking up at him with a few tears starting to brim in her eyes before she blinked them away. "We've gone through too much together for me to give up on you, I don't want you going down a dark path... just..." She bit her lip, unable to finish as Nick brought her into a hug, stroking her ears.

"I know Carrots... I know... I'm sorry..." Nick whispered, gently giving a chaste kiss between her ears. "It's just so much to take in... so many things I realized when I read it... I promise I'll be a good fox." He gave another rare genuine smile, though this was was sadder.

"Good..." Judy blinked away the remaining tears, smiling a bit and gently punched his arm. "Because I am not training a new partner."

"Oh please Carrots, I trained you." Nick laughed as they walked to her sqaud car.

* * *

Nick had resigned to laying on the couch after literally spending half of the day just pacing around his apartment, running everything over in his head. They had enclosed a copy of the DNA testing, he was a definite match for the kid... his son... that... had a strangely nice ring to it as he rolled it off his tongue.

What he had told Bogo was true, probably one of the few times he had been openly honest with his boss. He didn't know how to be a father. Sure, he had conned his way using Finnick as a stand in son, but hell, even that was staged from watching just a lot of daytime television. How was he supposed to know the first thing about being a good father when his own didn't stick around to watch him grow up?

He had wrestled with that fact ever since Judy dropped him off, she had insisted should he need her, and like Bogo said, he should call her or text her. He was still used to letting his feelings being known, trying his best to tone down the whole 'Don't let them see that they get to you' thing. Part of him wanted to open up, to let Judy know just how much she meant to him... how much he wanted to just have a simple happy life... but...

He jumped as the sound of his phone going off on his chest and tried to calm his beating heart as he entered in his password, tapping on the messenger app of his phone to see a text from Judy and Clawhauser.

 _Clawhauser: Hey bud, is... something wrong? You seemed awfully pale after coming out of the Bull Pen this morning._

He frowned, remembering just then that he wasn't really 'awake' then, still getting over the shock. He sent back a quick text saying a part of his past came back and he had to sort out a bunch of things. He didn't get a reply back so Nick assumed he was busy.

 _Judy: Hey, how are you feeling, sweetie?_

He bit his lip, re-reading it: _sweetie?_

 _Ding!_

 _Judy: S-Sorry, auto correct! *Facepaws* I meant 'sunshine'... figured I'd try out your brand of humor for a bit, see if it would put a smile on your face._

Nick allowed a soft chuckle, texting back: "Well... you got me giggling like a school girl who just got asked to the prom by the mention of 'sweetie' so... just peachy. Aren't you busy?"

Her reply was instant, she sure typed fast. _"Nope, just finished my rounds. Have to make a quick stop and then I'll be home."_

"Heh, all the time you come to my apartment, just come move in already." he teased her, smiling a bit despite his earlier inner turmoil.

There was a bit of a delay. _"...ok you owe me a new Polar Cola, I just coughed up some of it."_

"Sorry Carrots. Anyways, I'm doing okay so far, so... just be careful getting home, I'll see you when I see you."

 _"K, eager to see you~"_

"Heh, so eager to get your dose of Vitamin Nick, eh?"

 _"...Scratch that, you owe me two Polar Cola's."_

Nick laughed, sitting up and feeling a bit better after having that short conversation. He smiled a bit and felt some of his happiness return as he went to the fridge to grab a quick drink before flipping on Mewtube and cycled through the recent uploads, stopping cold as he saw the thumbnail of a "Breaking News" video...

Ice formed in his stomach as he saw it was a report of a father being arrested for neglecting and abusing his child...

* * *

"Nick, I'm here." Judy knocked gently, unlocking the door with her own copy of the key, noticing at once that every light was off. Sniffing and then wrinkling her nose, she could smell the strong smell of booze, sighing inwardly as she closed the door behind herself and treked through the silent dark apartment.

Even though her night vision wasn't as keen as Nick's she could clearly see him sitting at his dining table, motionless as he looked out of the window and at the starry night sky.

"Hey Carrots..." Nick said quietly, wiping his nose as he sniffed and Judy realized he had been crying as she set her present to him on the table and sat next to him. "What's in the bag?"

"That can wait... what happened? You were so chipper earlier." Judy asked softly, placing a paw on his arm and this time he did inch away, taking in a shuddering breath and Judy resisted the urge to bite her lip again.

"...Am I going to be a good father? Every time I start to believe in myself, I only go back to doubting myself a few minutes later. Why can't it all be so simple?" Nick asked her, swirling the last bit of scotch in his glass and Judy realized he had drank almost the entire bottle. She gingerly took it and threw the bottle away, glaring a little despite the touchy subject and the Fox let her, downing the last of his glass and getting up. With the practice step of a drunk elephant, he made his way to the sink and washed out his glass, more of something to put a bit of space between himself and the rabbit than anything else.

"You'd be a great father." Judy replied at once, no hesitation whatsoever. "Don't second-guess yourself, trust me Nick..." She blushed, thankful it was dark. "I've caught myself once or twice imagining you as a father, seeing you laugh and holding a child. I want you to be happy, you told me that you had it rough growing up with just your Mom, so... why not make it better for the both of you? It... is just one child, right?"

"A son, Samhain Wilde..." Nick chuckled, sadness seeping into his laugh. "She even gave him my last name. She... had to give him up in the Orphanage when she found out she was pregnant, she didn't want her parents to find out she had been with a poor Fox, much less having his kid, so... originally she wanted him to come straight to me, but since I was a con man, tracking me directly had been harder than anticipated and they gave up after two years. Four years pass, and a Fox by the name of Nick Wilde becomes a hero, becoming the first Fox police officer... they took the plunge, doing some testing with DNA sampling they got from the hospital from the records they had of me. Put two and two together, you get four and there you go, case closed. I'm a father who had no idea he had a son. She wanted me to have him... but my own damn stupidity made it hard for them to find me..."

"Nick..." Judy began, but he held up a paw.

"Let me finish, please..." Nick took a deep breath, and the rabbit nodded. "She came from Britain on a cruise, we hooked up almost immediately when she saw through one of my cons, trying to bring out the best in me like you did. Only... you succeeded where she failed." He smiled sadly. "She... had to leave after our one night together, back to Britain. So... when she gave birth, poor Samhain had been bounced around foster care before landing in Zootopia's Orphanage due to his birthright being there... the Orphanage we went to for visiting those kids who wanted to see a real police officer."

Judy's eyes widened. "Oh Nick..."

"I could have seen him... and never known..." Nick began to tear up, shaking a bit. "And... And his mother is dead... because of me... died of childbirth..."

Judy took that as her cue to get up, stopping with a gasp and her heart hammering into her chest as Nick's booze took over and he threw the empty glass against the far wall, thankfully having enough sense to do so where none would hurt either of them. He let out an anguished yell as he fell to his knees, pounding his fist into the floor until it hurt and Judy could faintly smell blood as he had split the skin.

"It's _my damn fault she's dead_! Because I couldn't keep it in my _fucking pants!_ " Nick shouted, falling to his knees. "I'm a horrible Fox... I-I..." He sobbed into Judy's shoulder as she ran forward and hugged him tightly, stroking his neck as she let him empty his sorrows.

"Judy... H-How can I live with what I've done? I...I've commited murder.. lock me up..." Nick gasped for breath as he sobbed and Judy held him tighter, shaking her head as she continued to stroke his neck, hoping to God that the neighbors didn't call the landlord for a disturbance.

"Nick... you didn't murder anyone. You couldn't have known of the complications." She tilted his head up but he refused to look at her. "Nick, look at me..."

He hiccuped, trying to stop his tears as he looked up into her eyes with an expression and eyes that made Judy's heart stop and shatter into a thousand pieces. Right then and there, damn all the consequences of anyone. She wanted to do the best she could to be there for him, to make him see the bright side of everything. She didn't care if people would label them as a couple, hell... as much as she fought her urges, she desperately wanted that. But the age old fear lingered, would he even love her back.

Instead, she gave a chaste kiss on the nose. "Trust me... This is in no way, shape or form, your fault. The world is cruel, Nick, even the most healthy person can fall ill due to one small mistake. That's all it takes, for one tiny thing to go wrong and everything can change."

"That may sound harsh, but... it's the world we live in." She stroked his cheek, his tears finally stopping. "Let's... have a talk over all of this, before your neighbors call the landlord on us."

Nick nodded, his cheeks redder than his fur as he stood up with her, turning on the lights as Judy set his dining table with two plates and slowly pulled out a still steaming hot blueberry pie, a wide smile.

"I knew this would cheer you up." She pat his paw, letting him seat himself before serving him up a slice and took a seat across from him. "So... I'm just a listener, I won't interrupt. Whenever you're ready..."

She trailed off politely, looking at him with caring, loving eyes. God, Nick just wanted to cuddle with her right now, hold her close and never let go. Her smile always brightened him up... her smell... He shook himself, starting to dig into his pie with a small smile, the warmth from the food starting to melt the ice in his gut.

"Well... it all started with a fox named Martha." Nick began.

 **A/N: And this concludes the end of a very passion-induced first chapter. I am a HUGE fan of Zootopia, especially since the movie came out a day before my birthday haha. Well, I actually didn't do this alone.**

 **A very special thanks goes out to Armae www .fan fiction u /213 9735/**

 **She acted as part beta reader, full-time co-writer and helped bring this story full circle. Honestly, without her help I would have just had another generic story. She made my story blossom into the awesome one you're reading now, so give her thanks as well. Also be sure to check out her story 'Through The Wall' as that also gave me the confidence to put this one out. She helped co-write this and helped me keep everyone as in-character as possible.**

 **So all in all, our collaboration so far has been a success in my eyes, I hope it does to you all as well. See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Stride

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, I greatly appreciate it. So without further ado, the next chapter~**

 **Also, Credit goes to Armae for the 'Wilde Times' idea.**

 _Truth is evasive, though you might have the facts_  
 _Got it straight, you think but then it all_  
 _Cracks wide open, you can search the world far and wide_  
 _The only truth that you can ever find_

 _Is in another, a soul that's got the same burning need_  
 _To find out what's 'neath the cover up_  
 _The one can't be without the true other_  
 _So let's get together, see what we can uncover_

 _I've tried to imagine what it'd be like without_  
 _Knowing you are always right by my_  
 _Side, not there, I can't imagine not knowing trust_  
 _Like I know with you_

 _Faith in each other, our souls have got the same burning need_  
 _To find out what's 'neath the cover up_  
 _The one can't be without the true other_  
 _So let's get together, see what we can uncover_

 _Let there be someone there that shares truth and love_  
 _Who really cares and knows we can only share our truth through_  
 _One that defines your world, gives you truth and life_  
 _One that excels, special enough to guide your way through_  
 _The shadow world_

"And that was 'Shadow World' by Shihoko Hirata from the hit videogame "Fursona 4: The Golden." The announcer chirped, starting to go on about some political things that Nick didn't really care to listen for as he hit the snooze button.

The fox lay there as he hummed the song while trying to decide what he would do for the day as Judy was busy at work. He smiled a bit to himself as he sat up and yawned, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. That had definitely perked him up, and so had the talk with Judy last night. As he got up to head to his fridge for some milk, he saw a note that was hanging from the door by a magnet.

 _"Morning sleepy-head,_

 _Sorry I couldn't stay to make you breakfast, but I had to get out early since your place is a bit farther from the Station than mine is. But anyways, I'm glad you told me everything. I know it was your business and I really didn't have any right to know, but I'm happy that I was able to help you through last night._

 _But seriously, Mister, you need to cut down on the alcohol. I don't want anything bad happening to my best friend. You're too important to me._

 _Anyways, shoot me a text when you get up, let me know how you are. If you don't have any plans, we can still hit up Harley and Puddin's for lunch later._

 _Be safe, Nick._

 _-Love, Judy~"_

Nick smiled and chuckled to himself as he finished the letter, she had drawn a little carrot at the end of her name. That little pet name of his really grew on her. To think it started out as something to grate on her nerves, she now knew that whenever he used the pet name, he was being playful. And used her real name when he was being serious.

 _"Hey, Carrots. I'm up."_ He texted her, taking a gulp of milk before going to shower and brush his teeth.

 _Judy: "Hey, about time you woke up, sleepy head :)"_

 _"Yeah well... I can blame a certain bunny who's too cuddly for her own good. I've slept better last night than I have in my life."_

 _Judy: "...Three Polar Cola's shall I start a tab?"_

Nick laughed, pulling on a pair of khakis and a plain white t-shirt. Buttoning up a nice green shirt over it that really went with his eyes, and smiled at himself in the mirror.

"I clean up nice." He chuckled softly to himself, glad he decided to forgo the hawaiian shirt for the day. Afterall, he was meeting his son... damn, the thought still made him tear up a bit.

 _His son..._

"My son..." He whispered, smiling a bit, straightening his dark purple tie that he had subconsciously slipped on while he was lost in thought. He seemed to be doing things unconsciously lately... he would have to see about fixing that.

Taking a seat at his dining table to see about getting a good bit of breakfast in his stomach to start the day off right, he started to much on a bit of some cereal.

 _"Nah, if you keep that up, I may ban you from them so I won't go broke ;)"_

 _Judy: "You better not! This is the only replacement I have for coffee. And it's better for my system than those energy drinks."_

 _"Alright, I won't but... Judy, I want to ask you something really important."_

 _Judy: "What is it, Nick?"_

The fox took a deep breath, hovering his finger over the send button before taking the plunge. This was Judy, the bunny who saved your life, who comforted you last night, the bunny he was irrevocably falling in love with... Good grief she really was rubbing off on him, he had never thought of himself as so cheesy before...

 _"...I want you to come with me to meet Samhain. I think having a strong female role model with me will be a good thing for him. He's been alone for so long. That and... honestly even after last night, I still have a lingering doubt. Don't get me wrong, I want Sam to be a part of my life as much as I want to be a part of his. But... hell, really the only 'kids' I've hung out with are Finnick during his elephant bit, and a few of the ones at the Orphanage."_

 _Judy: "Well in all honesty, you were great with them. They adored you, Nick. You'll do great, I promise. Trust your instincts."_

 _"My instincts are making my stomach flip flop."_

 _Judy: "That's just nerves, don't fret too much, ok? Trust me, you'll be an awesome Dad. I said so when you hustled me with the Jumbo Pop."_

 _"Thanks, Carrots. So... want to come with?"_ Nick smiled to himself, his vigor renewed.

Her reply was instant. _"Of course, as long as you're okay with it, I'll be there for you. Both of you."_

 _"Thanks Judy."_ Nick grinned, feeling a lot better now that he had his wingman... er... wing-girl by his side to help him see this through. _"So instead of Polar Cola's, how about I treat you to lunch. We missed out on going yesterday, so today would be good. Give us a reason to celebrate."_

 _Judy: "Sounds fun. But do you want to go before or after seeing Sam?"_

The fox bit his lip, frowning slightly. _"Well... how about after, I don't want to get all emotional and toss my lunch when meeting my son for the first time. And that way, he can have a proper meal instead of the Orphanage food. :)"_

 _Judy: "Alright, sounds like a plan. Howasie."_

 _"...?"_

 _Judy: "Sorry, Nick. I got interrupted and dang auto correct again when I hit send by mistake. Something came up here, I'm gonna be busy for a bit. I'll text you when I'm done with all this."_

 _"No problem. And hey... thanks Judy, for giving me the confidence."_

 _"Anytime, Nick. It's no trouble at all. Now I really gotta go, talk to you later!"_

 _"Be safe, Fluff."_

 _"Will do."_

He smiled to himself as he stared at Judy's text picture for just a few minutes longer, cutting the screen of his phone off and slipped it into his pocket as he finished up his breakfast. As long as everything went well, he had about an hour and a half until he had to go to the station to meet up with Judy for her lunch break.

After brushing his teeth for the second time, he deemed himself suitable for going out for a bit of a walk as he left his apartment. Taking a shortcut, he hummed as he passed a few children running down the sidewalk, kicking a can back and forth. He blinked, which was all it took, before the can shot from one of the kid's foot and connected with his face.

They all backed up, afraid of what the fox would do before he grinned and gave it a small kick back to them.

"Careful." He smiled kindly, getting into stance and beckoned at them. They laughed, giving the can another kick and the fox countered by showing off a bit of fancy paw-work that he hadn't used since he was about their age. The kids marveled at the moves he pulled off and begged to get him to teach them.

"Sorry, kids, I actually have places to be. I will show you next time." The fox grinned, tossing the can over his shoulder, kicking it from behind him right into the waiting paws of the tallest kid as Nick rounded a corner.

He kept walking down the sidewalk, unsure of where his destination was in mind as he wandered aimlessly, but also making sure he never strayed too far from the center of town where the ZPD was. It seemed as if he were being led by a subconscious desire... something was pulling him into a very familiar route he trekked as a teen. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he turned another corner and came face to face with one of the pieces of his past he still had yet to tell Judy about. As he stopped in front of an old abandoned building, he looked up and ran his eyes over the easily recognized, yet very aged, sign of the old Arcade that had been very very popular back in it's hayday...

 _Wilde Times..._

He frowned slightly as he looked over the painted sign. Which was peeling and the neon parts of the sign was busted in numerous places. A few of the windows were boarded up and whatever was uncovered had been smashed up by ruffians. In all honesty, he had almost no love for the place. His father had owned the place long before meeting his mother and gotten her pregnant. And soon after learning of this fact, it was awfully strange he all of a sudden had to up and leave them to fend for themselves with the bullshit excuse of 'trying to right an old wrong' and the arcade had shut down shortly after when they were unable to keep it maintained like his father had.

"Trying to right a wrong, my ass." Nick muttered bitterly, shaking his head. "The wrong you should have righted was leaving your family behind."

His "father" had sent a few letters home trying to explain the situation to Nick, but he had been too young to understand and his mother, after not even trying to read the letters and simply tossed them into their fireplace, decided to just tell Nick straight up that his father was dead. And in all honesty, the fox accepted it as fact, even as a kid. He left them alone for all those years, no money to their name, no support for their tough times...

No father to comfort him when his Mother had gotten sick and nearly died a few years ago.

He had come to find out that his father actually had lived in Zootopia for the past few years, but was apparently never bothered to see if Nick and his mother still lived in the area. It was either he didn't care or didn't know, but whatever, Nick didn't even care at this point. And then the fox received a call that his father had died of a heart attack about a month ago. When Nick refused to go see him, they had him buried quietly in the cemetary down on New Bark road. After contemplating it for a while, and with Judy's insistence, he went to the grave site to finally have some closure.

With the Pawpsicle hustle, the money he sent to his mother, they both had gotten off fine so far when he first started out. After the first few times of successfully pulling the job off, he realized he was making it through life on his own, his father was never needed. At first, when he was young and stupid, he blew it on luxuries he would much rather give back and have the money for more important matters. Regardless, whether he blew it on himself or not, he always made sure to give his mother a hefty portion.

But then one day she told him she didn't need the money anymore, while he was happy she was able to support herself financially, he was slightly bitter as he went out to do it for her, to make her life better since his own 'father' could never make it right for them. It was all he knew how to do at the time, it... left him with a feeling of emptiness because he had no idea what to do next since basically he was set for the time being. That was when they first stopped talking and only now with Judy yet again, she made them put the past behind them and make up... that rabbit sure was changing his life for the better.

He smiled a bit despite himself, remembering how his mother had asked if they were dating, and they had both were extremely flustered as they tried to deny it, only solidifying the fact in his mother's head. She had told him that if he ever decided to date her, he had her full support regardless that she was a bunny.

Interspecies relationships weren't exactly uncommon, but they weren't exactly welcomed with open arms either. Even after recovering from the Nighthowler incident, it hit Nick that it would take a miracle for everyone in the city to get past their prejudices.

 _"She's a keeper, unlike your old man."_ His mother had smiled a bit, hints of old sadness clouding her eyes before she blinked them away.

"Yeah... rot in hell you piece of shit." He growled at the memory of his father, picking up a brick and chucked it with as much of his strength as he could, feeling a twinge of satisfaction as it smashed into a window and splintered some of the wood that had boarded up the building.

"You'll see. I'll be a better father than you ever were." Nick scoffed, slapping his paws together to clear them of the dirt.

"Say what?!" The fox inadvertantly jumped at the loud voice behind him, spinning around and coming face to face with Finnick. Nick must have really been lost in his thoughts if he didn't hear Finn's van approaching, you could practically hear it coming a mile away.

"Oh... uh..." He rubbed his neck as the fennec fox smirked, laughing.

"So you and the rabbit finally did the deed, eh?" The short fox was laughing hysterically, shaking as he nearly fell to the ground with tears of laughter brimming from his eyes. "So how soon can you expect the lil' ones, eh?"

The red fox was honestly in no mood for jokes about his son.

"...Six years ago." Nick muttered, looking at the ground, frowning to himself and Finnick stopped laughing.

"Wait, what?" Finn frowning immediately, all traces of humor gone.

"My son..." The fox replied, feeling butterflies swarming through his stomach as he took a deep breath and spoke with a clearer voice. "My son, Samhain Wilde... he was born from me and Martha, remember her?"

"Hell yeah man, that girl was mighty fine and loaded to boot. I'm surprised she turned out as down to earth as she had. Most women with that kinda money turn completely pyscho bitch and don't give a rat's ass about anyone else but themselves." Finn started on one of his mini-rants before Nick held up a paw.

"Can we continue this elsewhere?" he asked.

Finn nodded, patting his friend on the back and led him to the van.

* * *

"Pass." Nick shook his head, waving away the beer bottle that Finn offered him.

"Y'sure? You ain't never passed up no beer before. Ya still feel fuzzy in the gut?" Finn scowled.

"No. I'm going to meet my son for the first time this afternoon. I don't need to go to the Orphanage with booze on my breath." Nick explained, and Finn nodded for once understanding.

"So... tell me what happened. When'd you find out, bro?" Finn took a seat across from him, they were sitting in his van in the alleyway across the street from the Police Station.

"Well... Martha... she had our son about six years ago. A few weeks before she went into labor, she had already signed the documents and stuff to put him up for adoption as soon as she could, so her parents wouldn't find out she had been with a poor fox and not a rich upper-classmammal one. But complications arose in childbirth and she died from it." Nick spoke softly, his voice quiet and Finn was for once glad for his ears when his friend's voice got quieter, which flattened sideways to match Nick's posture.

"Shit man... that's rough. Why's they just gettin' to you now?"

"Well duh, I wouldn't be much of a con mammal if I gave out my real name to everyone in the city. They tried for two years to track me down with no luck and he got stuck in the Zootopia Happy Time Orphanage for the next four years since this place was where he was supposed to live." The fox sighed, rubbing his face. "I tell ya Finn, nothing has gotten me down like this had. I drank almost an entire bottle of Scotch by the time Judy arrived at my apartment last night."

"...Please tell me you had enough control." Finn frowned, he may have been a joker and at worst, a completely asshole, but even he knew when to get serious. And alcohol induced intimacy was a big X for him.

"Of course, you know scotch doesn't get to me as much as the other stuff. Hell, that was just to loosen me up, me and her had a long talk that night and it made me feel a lot better about myself and she's doing her best to help me come to terms with everything I've been dealt with so far. And I made a promise to Judy that I was going to be a better father than mine and be the best one that I can be."

"Good for ya. She's got ya whipped a'right!" Finn nodded, grinning as Nick scowled. "So could I be the badass cool Uncle Finnick?"

"Drop the badass, but yeah, you're welcome to." Nick chuckled, his watch beeping. "Alright man, I gotta get going... but hey, thanks."

"Nah man, don't start giving me that mushy shit. We's family." Finn clapped him on the shoulder. "Now get outta my van and meet your kid, daddy-o."

Nick chuckled at the lame joke, shaking his head as he said farewell and exited the vehicle.

* * *

Judy frowned softly as she left the side-room to the interrogation room, letting the young female pig be as she waited patiently for her husband to be released. The male wolf who had been apprehended due to a call from their landlord for a supposed 'domestic violence'.

From what she was getting from the 'victim' and 'suspect' seemed like they were set up and framed. Especially when... the husband finally admitted very embarrassingly that... they were being intimate when the police arrived. It had all fallen into place after listening to the Wolf's statement.

The landlord was against their relationship and also they had gotten a bit louder than intentional and a few of the other tenats called in to complain about the noise, prompting the owner to simply call the police and have the wolf arrested for the... she shuddered at the word... 'rape' of a helpless female pig.

"...My wife enjoys being dominated in bed, there. I said it. Any other dirty bedroom secrets I need to drop before I'm locked up for showing my wife some love?" The wolf muttered quietly, his fur bristled from the embarrassment and his muzzle bright red.

And at that statement, along with an equally embarrassed confirmation from the wife, they had started to apologize profusely and even promised the wolf that this would not show up in records of any kind. However, they let the couple know that it would be possible to sue the landlord for wrongful arrest and see him get his (off the record) just desserts for simply acting on his prejudices.

The young rabbit bit her lip as she approached the counter where Clawhauser was busy trying to help the child of the family relax.

"He didn't do anything wrong! He didn't... um... what was it called?" the kid began, then stopped, frowning as he tilted his head.

The child couldn't have been any more than five years old. He was a young wolf boy with bright blue eyes and short black fur that he obviously got from his father, and his eyes from his mother. Clawhauser looked at Judy for help, unsure of what exactly to tell the child without scarring him for life or giving him the wrong information to spare his pure child mind.

"Hey kiddo." Judy smiled brightly, kneeling in front of him. "Your Dad's gonna be just fine. Don't worry, we just had to bring him into the Station for some questions. Nothing too serious, we're terribly sorry our officers scared you." She pat his head and he seemed to calm down somewhat.

"What's your name?" Judy asked politely.

"Isaac." The boy replied, sniffling a bit as he was calming down and Judy offered him a tissue from the counter.

"That's a nice name, a big boy name." Judy smiled, ruffling his head lightly, causing the child to laugh. "Hey, want to play a game while we wait for your parents?"

Isaac's eyes lit up at once, smiling and nodding energetically.

"Alright." The rabbit officer smiled, holding up a silver dollar. "This is a silver dollar, have you learned about these yet?"

At the shake of a head, she continued. "It's worth fifty cents, that means you can buy two pieces of candy from that machine over there." She pointed at the coin machine near the front door and blinked as right then, Nick pushed his way past the doors.

 _Ironic..._ she mused, smiling a bit to him and nodded, he nodded back, walking over to Clawhauser as Judy looked back at the kid.

"I'm going to hide it behind my back in one of my paws, you have to guess which one it's in, got it?"

"Yup!"

"Okay." The rabbit flicked the coin up with her thumb, letting it fall back into her palm and put her paws behind her back and straightened her posture, smiling warmly at the child. "Which paw is it in?"

"Ummm... your right." He pointed to the paw opposite she had started with, and Judy smiled, shaking her head when she opened the choice and it was empty.

"Okay, the left, I mean you only have two paws." Isaac giggled, and was awestruck as Judy brought both of her paws out in front of her, opening them and the coin was gone. "W-What?! Where'd it go?!"

Judy chuckled, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh? What's this?"

Reaching forward, she curled her fingers next to one of his ears and flipped her wrist, the coin landing in her other paw, grinning widely at the child's reaction. He could hardly contain his joy and surprise.

"How on earth did the coin get in your ear?" She smiled, holding it out to him and he took it with reverance, as if it were the most magical thing on the planet.

"W-Wow... you're a magician?" Isaac looked at her with wide eyes, his mouth agape.

"Well... I wouldn't be a magician if I gave away all my secrets, now would I?" Judy chuckled, giving a wink as she pat the child on the head. "Go on, go get some candy, you deserve it."

Nick stepped up next to her as Judy stood up, stretching her legs as she had been crouching for so long. He smiled at her and pat her shoulder, giving a thumbs up.

"Nice one. Maybe you should consider becoming Sam's god-mother." He smirked, to which Judy blushed and shook her head.

"I'm flattered..." Judy began, watching Isaac carefully to make sure nothing happened to him. "But... I don't know. I want to be more but..." She trailed off, well aware of the looks both Clawhauser and Nick gave her, and she shook them off. "Nothing, just rambling. Sadly, that's all the magic I know. I guess I'm a one trick bunny."

"Nah, you're more than that." Nick assured with a soft squeeze on the shoulder and Judy couldn't resist laying her paw on his. Isaac skipped happily to his parents as they approached the fox and bunny, smiling and seeming quite a bit better after the embarrassment they went through.

"Thank you for looking after our son. It's nice to see another interspecies couple looking out for eachother." The wolf smiled brightly, and his wife nodded.

"We're not..." Judy began then was cut off by Nick.

"It's alright, sweetheart, no need to hide it." The fox chuckled, patting her head and gave a soft kiss on the cheek which caused Judy to heat up at once.

"What my _partner_ is trying to say." The rabbit stressed the word. "Is that we had no trouble as officers of the law to perform our civic duty to look out for the innocent. It was no problem at all."

"Oh, so... you're not. I see." The female pig nodded, smiling a bit. "I assumed by how close you seem..."

Judy nodded, smiling. "It's alright. Take care, and be sure to give us a call any time."

They brought Isaac into their arms and left through the doors like a true family, smiling and laughing as if nothing had ever happened. It was nice to see mammals being able to forgive and forget, if only the rest of Zootopia were like that...

"...Four Polar Cola's, _Mister Wilde."_ Judy cleared her throat as Clawhauser clocked her out for her lunch break.

"Anything for my darling Mrs. Wilde." Nick smirked, seeming to go back to his usual snarky self as Judy couldn't help smiling at that.

"Five Polar Cola's." Judy elbowed him in the ribs, causing the fox to groan as he followed her out to the squad car, shaking his head.

"No fair... you're going to break what little money I have so you can keep your Polar Cola addiction." Nick grumbled, flattening his ears as he rubbed his face.

Judy's only answer was a smile. "Come on, let's go meet the newest addition to the family. And by the way... you clean up real nice, slick Nick~"

 **A/N: I hope this was up to par with the first chapter. Let me know what you think, reviews are** _ **greatly**_ **appreciated~ :) Next chapter will be up as soon as possible.**

 **Special thanks again to Armae for helping me polish it up~**


	3. Jitter

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the love and views, so... to celebrate, here's the next chapter~**

 _"You can't do nothing right, babe!"_

 _*Bzzt*_

 _"All by myself..."_

 _*Bzzt*_

 _"Everybody hurts..."_

 _*Bzzt*_

 _"I'm a loser!"_

 _*Click*_

"...Alright that's enough music for now." Nick grumbled to himself, looking forlornly out the window, sighing. "Remind me to rip out your radio later."

"Sheesh, someone has their tail in a twist!" Judy chuckled a bit, gently stopping at a red light while the fox straightened his tie for the millionth time. "Funny, that exact thing happened when I came to Zootopia... oh wait..." She pressed the eject button, popping out a CD and smirked at Nick.

"Sly bunny..." Nick chuckled.

The rabbit smiled gently as she turned her radio back on and soothing music sounded through the speakers, with Nick smiling a bit more as his mood lightened.

"Try as you might, you'll never best ol' Nick." The fox grinned, laughing.

"Well you are old." Judy countered, smirking at her jab.

"Low blow, Carrots." Nick chuckled.

The light turned green, letting them pass as Judy turned the corner, bringing them closer and closer to the Orphanage. Nick's stomach twisted in knots as he looked nervously at the building that was becoming clearer and clearer in view. It was funny, when he was growing up, the thought of jail scared the fur off of him. But now? The sight of his Son's soon-to-be old home filled him with even more dread than jail ever did.

Sensing his apprehension, Judy gently touched his arm as she parked the squad car in front of large- almost castle-like building. Nick looked up at the intricate structure, gulping audibly before turning his attention to the rabbit, taking in a deep breath.

"I'm okay, just nerves." He assured her, putting on his happy face and Judy frowned at him, causing the fox to drop the act and frown right back.

"...Okay, a lot of nerves." The fox admitted, visibly shaking himself as he swallowed again, noting how his throat was suddenly dry. "But I'll be okay, that's what I have you here for. If I start to go pale, give me a quick kick in the keister to keep me from tossing my breakfast." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood with one of his jokes but Judy wasn't having any of it.

"We can come back later, if you're still too nervous?" she suggested, her face serious and eyes never breaking contact with his.

"I'll be fine, just..." Nick's frowned deepened, his ears flattening against his head. "I've done a lot of thinking about... everything, these past few hours. What... What if he hates me? I've only just started to come to terms with all this, a Dad who's about to meet his son for the first time, not knowing I've been one for six years and so on."

"I'm such a mess..." He covered his face, groaning and shook his head. "I keep gaining the confidence only to immediately lose it whenever I think of him, thinking of what _he_ thinks of _me!_ What is wrong with me, Carrots? Does every father go through this? Judy, this isn't easy for me... I keep going through mood whiplashes... and the other night..."

He bit his lip and looked down at his lap, trying not to get too emotional as he remembered their long talk the other night, where they just cuddled on his couch and talked about everything. That was one of the best nights of his life, just having her close... and they weren't even dating! A mix of emotions kept tearing through his body as his personal mantra kept coming back to try to cage all his emotions up, but damn it! He wanted to be open and honest with Judy like that night, but all of his past kept dragging him back down. His old con-mammal instincts that he'd been slowly wheating out of his demeanor have been whispering false promises to stay the path of the con artist...

Out of everything that's happened in the past, so far Sam seemed to be one of the best things to happen, despite not meeting until now. And Judy...

Dear God, this rabbit had become one of the most important people in his life. There hadn't been a second that went by each day where she wasn't in his thoughts. Like how she said earlier how she wanted more but... but what? What was she going to say then?

Judy had saved him from going down an even darker path than he realized. When she had brought him into the force, he realized how close he was to becoming a tapestry of lies and false promises... she was his everything, yet... he couldn't even muster the courage to tell her how he truly felt. The fear of rejection, the fear of him thinking that he was perhaps even over-thinking their current relationship...

Fear... Bellwether was right about one thing... it always came down to fear...

Well... he was going to do his damn best to make sure fear never controlled him again, starting now.

He shook his head, flinching when he realized that Judy had leaned over to hug him and at first he just sat there as his brain started to catch up with what happened before slowly hugging back.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. First... we have to meet him, then talk everything out with him. Ok?" She whispered to him and he nodded to her, surprising them both when she lightly nuzzled his cheek before pulling back with a red face.

"Good..." She whispered after their agreement.

"So!" She cleared her throat, straightening up as Nick fiddled with his tie for the two-millionth time. "Shall we get going?"

Nick swallowed again, nodding as he opened up the door and followed her to the front door, gripping the doorknob that suddenly felt like his paw was glued to it. But steeling his nerves, he turned and pressed on inside.

For the most part, it seemed almost like a school. Clean marble tile floors, intricate mahogany and more oiled paintings of famous composers and world leaders than Nick ever knew there actually were. Not that he had ever really paid much attention in school to begin with. His mouth hung open as he looked up and the ceiling reached up higher than the view from outside had first led him to believe.

Large glass tiles dotted the ceiling, giving a glimpse of the outside and now Nick understood the motto of the building 'Reach for the Sky'. Judy tapped him on the arm and the fox started when he realized he had stopped to stare at everything the building had to offer, if this was just the main lobby, he wondered how everything else would have looked. They really had it going for them here.

"Well..." Nick cleared his throat. "If they can have all this fancy-schmancy stuff here, I can only hope they had taken good care of Samhain. Sorry, let's go."

He nodded to her as they started off toward the main office, where they were met with the gaze of an older goat who cleared her throat and smiled kindly at the duo. True to his thoughts, the office was just as gorgeous as the lobby. However, the fox noted that the decor and overall look of the office seemed to lean more toward 'humble' than 'extravagant'. It had a nice home-ly relaxing feel to it.

"Good afternoon." She stood up, giving a small bow. "To what do I owe the pleasure of having Zootopia's famous police officers?"

"Ah... umm..." Nick swallowed, trying to regain his voice as the woman tilted her head. "I... received a letter yesterday." He fished it out of his pocket and presented it to her.

"...I'm here to see my son, Samhain Wilde." Nick said, his confidence coming back to him as his voice was clearer as he held out his wallet with his I.D. "I'm Nicholas Piberius Wilde."

"S-Samhain?" The woman repeated, her eyes widened. "Oh dear me, I didn't realize at first! I'm so happy that you have finally decided to come see him."

"I'm sorry that I haven't been the easiest person to get ahold- wait, what do you mean 'finally decided'? I never knew until yesterday." Nick frowned, feeling ice starting to form in his gut.

"This letter, you got it yesterday, yes? We sent the letter out a month ago." The goat woman frowned also. "We have sent numerous letters to your addresses for the past six years, regardless of you moving around a lot." She giggled slightly as if it were some private joke. "But... we once received a letter from you once about a year ago that you would not be seeing him."

"Bullshit." Nick's frown turned into a slight snarl and his claws dug into his paws and he shook himself, calming down. "I apologize for me saying that. But... I never had any letters of any kind from this establishment. Like I said, I only found out about Sam yesterday. Do you still have that refusal letter?"

The woman nodded, disappearing behind the door marked 'Rec. Room' and reappeared not a moment later after it clicked shut, as if she had phased through the door by magic. She gave a small bow and handed over the letter to Nick, who opened it up and his eyes widened, his mouth open as he read it.

"This... this isn't my paw-writing. This must be some kind of forgery, but..." He shook his head, looking over the address. "Who would write this? This... raises even more questions." He looked at the woman who was sweating nervously.

"I-I am deeply sorry that we didn't use any other method to reach you, however Mr. Xavier doesn't believe in computers. He ah... would rather the children develop real social skills and other physical attributes than sitting all day at a computer." The goat scratched her neck nervously. "We simply took the letter as fact and didn't press the issue."

Nick held up a paw, politely stopping her. "It's alright, it would make no sense to get angry at you. You were just doing your job. You... didn't tell him that I refused to see him, did you?"

"We did mention we found you, but... we simply told Sam that you were away on very important business. He didn't take to it too well after the first month, sadly... it seemed to sink in that you weren't coming." The goat bit her lip, looking at her hooves.

"I'll do right by him now, that's all that matters," Nick said with a tight smile. "Do you mind if we have all the files of everything you've sent or received in regards to me and Sam? I'll need them to set up a small private case of finding out who this forger is."

"Of course, Officer Wilde." The woman nodded. "Shall I... have them delievered to the ZPD?"

"That would be great, thanks." Nick nodded and smiled at Judy, who's face was furrowed deep in thought. "Come on, Carrots. We can do our police work later."

"Alright." Judy nodded.

"Oh and where can we find Sam, Miss...?" Nick paused, realizing that he never once asked for her name.

"Dreemurr, Toriel Dreemurr." The goat smiled warmly. "And Sam should be in the C hall in Mrs. Fauna's classroom, currently in his music class."

"Thanks, Ms. Toriel." Nick smiled back and waved as he and Judy left to head for the designated hall, looking at the small map he had picked up from the table next to the doorway.

Judy was quiet as they walked down the twisting, almost repeating, hallways. Her arms crossed as she was lost deep in thought. Nick pulled out her favorite carrot pen and handed it to her, knowing whenever she had to think, she had to have something to fiddle with in her paws. As the rabbit chewed lightly on the green end, she jumped slightly as she tapped the 'Play' button and heard her own voice. _"I really am just a dumb bunny!"_

Nick looked away as Judy transferred her gaze to him. "You... still have that? I thought you got rid of it."

The fox was silent for a long while, before telling her in a whisper. "...I made a promise to myself. I would _never_ make you cry like that again."

"Oh Nick..." Judy's eyes softened, rubbing her arm, starting to feel like a teenager again.

"We're here." Nick announced, stopping in front of the designated classroom, standing there for a long time as he stared at the door. He took a deep breath as he raised a paw and gently knocked on the door, steeling his nerves as he heard a musical (pun intended) _'Come in!'_

He gave one last look and genuine smile to Judy as he twisted the knob and pushed inside, blinking as the bright lights and reflections from the instruments slightly stung at his eyes. Blinking rapidly, his eyes adjusted and stepped into the room, sweeping his gaze over the classroom before settling on the teacher.

"Hello, Ms. Dreemurr told me this is where I could find Samhain Wilde?" Nick spoke up to Mrs. Fauna's questioning gaze.

"Yes, and who might you be?" Mrs. Fauna asked politely as Nick's gaze snapped to a silver furred fox boy who stood up at once, his eyes wide as he ran up to the older fox.

Nick's heart stopped in that moment as his son stood before him. He was nearly the splitting image of the older fox when he was the same age, he had Martha's silver silken fur, but Nick's piercing emerald eyes. There was no doubt in his mind at all, this was his son. His... His son! Finally he accepted it full-heartedly, there was no way in this life or the next that he was going to leave him behind anymore. This was his job as a father. He knelt so he was eye-level to the boy who slowly stepped up closer to him until they were a foot apart, neither wanting to break the silence as they studied eachother.

"S-Sam... I'm..." Nick swallowed the lump in his throat, tears starting to brim in his eyes as his voice was thick with emotion. "Sam, I'm your Dad. It's so good to finally see you..."

At the word 'Dad', Sam's face lit up, his eyes wide as he gently reached out. Nick shivered as he felt the smaller paw caress his face and Sam bit his lip.

"...Y-You're real..." Sam whispered, his voice was barely as whisper. "You're... really... really... here."

"Y-Yeah..." Nick smiled gently, the tears falling as he nodded. "I'm here, Sam. You don't have to be alone anymore."

One second Nick was staring into the eyes of his son, the next he felt a stinging punch to the side of his face and even though Sam was still just a kid, it hurt a little physically and a lot emotionally.

"THAT'S for refusing to see me!" Sam wailed, closing the distance and leapt into Nick's arms as they hugged eachother close and tight, afraid to let go as they feared the other would disappear.

The class was silent as they watched the emotional reunion, and Judy herself was trying her best to keep from crying with the both of them as the rest of the class slowly filed out for early recess to give the father and son some privacy. The rabbit stayed where she was, afraid to disturb the scene as Nick and Sam sobbed, holding eachother and nuzzled lovingly. She had never seen the fox so... so vulnerable, it warmed her heart immensely to see him let go of his 'happy times' facade and show his softer, more emotional intimate side. She had only seen it a few times, and by few, she meant that night on the gandola and last night when they... cuddled.

Her ears burned as she recalled that night.

Nick hiccuped, letting Sam go and rest his paws on his shoulders and smiled widely. "I'm so sorry, Samhain. Please... forgive your old man for all the crap you had to go through. I know an orphanage couldn't have been easy. But I promise you, when I take you home, you'll have the best life I can possibly give you. A warm loving home with me and we can finally be a happy family. How does that sound?"

Sam smiled, wiping his nose and sniffed. "Is... she my new Mom?" He pointed at Judy who, along with Nick, eyes widened and their fur stood on end.

"What did I say?" Sam frowned, tilting his head.

"Me and Nick... we're not..." Judy began, becoming very flustered as she fiddled with her carrot pen again, blushing from her head to the tips of her ears.

"Oh..." Sam said, looking down and the rabbit knelt next to him.

"But I can be your friend, Sam." She smiled at him and the young fox nodded, his smile returning.

"Well... all ready to go see your new home?" Nick stood up, gently patting his son on the shoulder.

Sam looked at the floor, wiping his eyes. "Can... Can I at least say goodbye to my friend Winnie?"

"Of course. Does... she live here too?" Nick nodded, giving Sam a gentle squeeze on the shoulder.

"Um not really, her Mom works here. Winnie is home-schooled and mostly spends all of her free time here... so she could be near me." Sam blushed, scuffing his foot on the carpet nervously. "She's my best friend, we grew up together."

"No problem." Nick grinned. "Did you want to introduce us or...?"

"Sure! Follow me, Dad!" Sam grabbed Nick's paw and dragged him to his feet with surprising strength for someone his age and started to pull the older fox along with Judy in tow, giggling as she followed them.

 _"...You'll never be a good father."_

Nick blinked, looking around while Sam led them to another part of the school, talking animatedly and Judy added to the conversation where she could as the older fox stopped them.

"Did you hear that?" He asked, to which he received very confused looks from his son and best friend.

"Hear what?" Sam asked.

 _"...It won't last. He'll be gone before you know it. Leave him."_

"That!" Nick's eyes widened as he looked around frantically, Judy and Sam continued to look at him as if he were crazy.

"Nick you're not making any sense..." Judy said gently, stepping closer to him and touched his arm yet again for the millionth time that day. Only this time, when Nick blinked...

...They were in an alleyway Nick recognized all too well. The way to 'Wilde Times'.

 _"This will be your future if you keep this up... Dump her! Leave Sam! THEY are not worth your time!"_

"Judy and Sam ARE worth it!" Nick shouted at the voice, growling as he looked around.

"Nick..."

The fox spun around, looking on horror as Judy was standing before him, her eyes devoid of any of the spark she usually had. Hollow and lifeless... She was smiling at him like a maniac.

"...The hell is going on?!" Nick yelled at her and his eyes widened as Judy slowly raised her arm, and realized with growing dread as the shiny mettalic object she held was a loaded gun. "JUDY!"

He shut his eyes, throwing up his arms to shield himself even though he knew it was useless and heard the deafening sound as the gunshot pierced through the alleyway. Nick's body felt like someone poured liquid lead into his veins, but... he didn't feel any physical pain from the gunshot. In fact... he didn't feel anything at all.

Slowly... ever so slowly... he opened his eyes...

...And now he was the one holding the gun, having it pointed right at Sam. Who was now clutching at his chest with a look of utter betrayal and pain.

 _"You are no worse than the scum you put in jail..."_

 _"You are_ exactly _like your father..."_

"SAM!" Nick screamed, running toward him and caught his son before he hit the ground, sobbing uncontrollably as Sam coughed, struggling to speak.

"Please! No... Don't leave me..." Nick tried his best to apply pressure to the wound, but it only seemed to make the bleeding worse. "No, Sam no... no..."

 _"SAAAAAM!"_ Nick screamed again, through the fog of his half-awake mind, he thrashed at his bedsheets and covers, falling out of his bed and managed to unceremoniously slap his funnybone against the nightstand, groaning and sobbing as he struggled to sit up as his entire arm was numb.

He finally mustered the strength to sit up as he hugged his knees to his chest and tried to sort out what was real and what was a dream. With a start, he gasped and leapt up, running toward the guest room he had fixed up for Sam earlier that day. Panting as he leaned heavily against the doorframe and felt the relief start to wash over him as he saw that Sam was sleeping soundly in his bed and Nick let out the breath he had been holding. He watched his son sleep for a little bit longer as he slowly walked to his kitchen, his heart still racing from the intense nightmare he had.

He had NEVER had one so severe before... he chalked it down to all the stress and emotional things he had to deal with the past few days, walking up to his fridge and glared at his reflection from the stainless steel. With a grunt, he reared his head back and smacked his forehead against the appliance. Hard.

"...Unnnngh, okay... I'm awake." Nick moaned, holding his sore head as he rubbed it to dull the pain. "Still good to check..."

He opened the fridge and looked through all of his drinks, realizing he still had another full bottle of scotch left. Pulling out the bottle and looking it over as he rolled it from paw to paw, glaring at it.

"Never again." Nick said with finality, pouring out the alcohol in the sink and tossed the bottle into the garbage bin.

Maybe it was his dream compelling him to act... or maybe just plain old fatigue, but he sent a quick text to Judy telling her that he wanted to see about talking about some personal matters whenever she had the time. "Better to act now than to regret it later" as his Mother always said.

And again as an afterthought...

 _"Hey, G~ I'm going to see about taking the plunge and asking her out. Wish me luck, I may need your expertise later. Haha."_

He sat down on his bed, yawning as he curled up on his side, closing his eyes but roused when his phone vibrated.

 _G: "Oh very nice, darling. Me and Raikov will be rooting for you!"_

 _"Heh... thanks. Sorry for texting so late."_

He checked his alarm clock and realized it was already 4 AM.

 _G: "Don't worry, we were busy with setting things up for this weekend. Be sure to drop by, you and your family are always welcome."_

 _"Will do, night."_

Nick sighed softly as he curled up on his bed again, hugging a pillow tightly to his chest as his tail wrapped around it and he nuzzled into it.

"Judy..." He mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

Ever had one of those falling dreams? Yeah... Nick was falling now. He shut his eyes tightly as he started hearing all the whispers from his earlier nightmare, his brain still haywire from the experience. He shook his head vigorously and chanted out the names of his closest friends...

"Judy..." Nick whispered.

 _"You'll never be a real father..."_

 _"He deserves a real father..."_

 _"A real mother..."_

 _"You can't provide anything he would want..."_

 _"Sam will_ never _love you."_

"JUDY WILL NEVER LOVE YOU!"

Nick shut his eyes tighter to block the whispering darkness that enveloped him as he kept falling, weeping silently as his past kept trying to drag him further and further down. Now literally...

"Nick... You'll be okay..." The fox slowly opened his eyes, standing in the middle of the Bunnyburrows... Judy was by his side, slowly slipping her paw into his as she smiled at him. "I'm here... don't cry... You promised."

"I...I promised to never to make YOU cry." Nick whispered.

"You cry... I cry." Judy smiled, leaning against him and Nick looked to his other side to see Sam slide into him to hug his side.

"...We love you, Nick. Don't ever leave us." Judy and Sam said softly.

Nick smiled in his sleep, tears of joy staining his pillow as he slept peacefully through the night.

 **A/N: Sorry this took so long, I had a problem getting all the words out, but I finally got it done!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed, reviews are appreciated and I will post the next chapter as soon as I can~**


	4. Concord

**A/N: Words cannot express how happy I am everyone loved the last chapter. :) Here's the next~**

Nick hummed softly to himself as he snagged the box of cereal from the top of his refrigerator, popping it open and poured some into a small bowl.

"Alright, kiddo, want any soy milk?" He asked, smiling at Sam who simply beamed.

"Yes please." His son replied.

He practically bounced in his seat as Nick poured the soy milk into the bowl and served it to Sam, who gave a quiet thanks. The older fox fixed himself a bowl and sat next to his son as they quietly munched on their breakfast. Neither really knew what to say as yesterday's emotional outburst was letting out a few days worth, or in Sam's case a few years, of pure unadulterated emotions that neither had shown to anyone before. And now? Now they were trying their best to start adjusting to having someone new in their lives. It was really sinking in for the father and son, this was real, this was all happening. Nick was a Dad, Sam _had_ a Dad. The thought both excited and scared Sam, to tell the truth.

Nick peeked at Sam out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to read the newspaper and realized his son was doing the same thing. And now the quietness was even more awkward as Nick cleared his throat and they went back to eating. Both were unsure of what to say or do since neither really knew eachother well at this point. Sam was making quiet tapping as he drummed his fingers on the table, frowning a bit. Being a kid he had a lot of energy to burn, and he was usually hyperactive and talkative back at the Orphanage. But at the moment, he wasn't sure whether he should jump for joy at the fact he was finally with a real parent, or try to act like those... what was it? Rich kids who ran at the sound of their father's whistle?

Was his father anything like that? So far all signs pointed to "No" but he was still a bit leery of his new parent.

Meanwhile, Nick was lost to his own thoughts.

Nick and Judy had a bit of a talk as they had set up Sam's room yesterday while his son was enjoying having cable tv in the livingroom, and he realized just now that he would have to set a parental block later on. He smiled softly as he recalled what had transpired...

* * *

Nick chuckled a bit as he scooped up some old balled up paper from one of their many paperwork stress reliever nights. When Nick had complained that he had way too much paperwork to be filing out for Bogo, Judy balled up a blank piece of paper and chucked it at his head. It had only escalated from there, one of the many nights where Nick loved how close they were as best friends. Super long boring or exciting cases or not, he couldn't ask for a better partner or friend.

It was sad actually, how they had neglected to clean up the guest room beforehand, neither had really thought about it while they were heading to pick up Sam. He would have had a need for a proper place to lay his head for the night, obviously. Nick had mentally kicked himself for forgetting something so simple.

It was near six in the evening. Judy had been relieved from work earlier than usual due to telling Bogo of meeting Sam, as Bogo himself told her that it would do Sam good to have her around. She was still expected to come in tomorrow for work and was allowed this small reprieve to allow Sam a chance to settle in. It was strange... maybe she should move in with them afterall? They already felt like a family in her eyes, oh sweet cheese and crackers, what was she saying? Of course they were a family!

The rabbit hummed softly as she picked up an old shirt of Nick's that she had worn one night. It still held their mixed scent...

"It's funny, you know me as an OCD neat freak. Yet, this room doesn't really reflect it." Judy chuckled, giving the shirt one last look as memories coarsed through her. She gave it a heafty toss to the overflowing hamper in the corner of the room, joining the other laundry that neither of them were really looking forward to doing.

"True enough." Nick nodded, moving the dresser to another spot to make the TV easier to see from anywhere in the room, while he watched Judy leap around the room as she cleaned.

"And all this cleaning we're doing, I forgot to give you a maid outfit." He grinned.

"Oh ha ha. I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those." Judy rolled her eyes. "They're way too skimpy, I don't know how those ever came to be."

"I don't know, I think you'd look good in one." Nick gave a throaty chuckle, his smirk widening. "Maybe I _should_ buy you one... for your birthday." He added with a wink.

"Oh geez, please don't. That's the last thing my parents need to see me getting." Judy shuddered, anticipating the possibilities of what her parents would say or do.

But then again... she felt a bit guilty imagining the scenario of being in a maid outfit in front of Nick... she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

 _Don't think like that!_ she chided herself.

"Who said they had to know?" Nick winked, and Judy laughed at their playful, almost flirty, banter. It was one of the many things she loved about their relationship.

Twilight gleamed through the open window and the curtains fluttered in an almost synchronized dance as the wind slipped throughout the room.

"It... kinda got crazy at the Orphanage, huh?" Nick spoke up after a bit of silence.

"I would be surprised if it didn't end up like that." Judy admitted, tossing out a bit of old trash she had pulled out from under the bed as her eyes scanned the room for any more impurities.

"Yeah well... it felt good to get it all out, and I'll bet it's the same for Sam." Nick replied, letting out a breath as he grinned at her, looking into her eyes.

"Thanks, Judy. For being there." He spoke sincerely, with a smile to match.

"What are friends for?" Judy beamd warmly back at him.

"True..." Nick took a seat so they could take a break for a minute. "I mean it, thanks for everything. I wouldn't be here without you."

"I know I don't say it enough," Nick cleared his throat, giving another one of his genuine smiles to his best friend as she sat next to him on the bed. "But honest to God, I'm happy to have you in my life. You've changed me, all of me, for the better. I don't know what would have happened to me if all of this hit when we never knew each other and actually, I'd rather not think of it."

"All that matters is here and now, better to let the past stay in the past." Nick sighed, looking down at Judy and leaned over to give a gentle chaste kiss to the forehead. "You told me to not hide what I'm feeling? Well... I'm happy. To have you here with me. Happy to have Sam here. And I'm happy that Sam adores you so far."

Judy let out a choked gasp of emotion, tears of joy slowly brimming as she took Nick's hand and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Anytime." She whispered, scooting closer as she looked into his eyes. They were warm, caring and every time she looked into them she always lost herself. Cliche or not, it was the truth. Almost as if they were magnetized, they started to lean close their eyes going half-lidded as they were an inch apart.

"Dad!" Sam burst through the door, causing Judy and Nick to jolt apart a few feet. The young fox stopped in the middle of the room, looking around in awe. "Is... Is this room all mine?"

Nick nodded, getting up to kneel next to his son. "Yeah, this room is all yours, Sam. And I'm very happy to let you have it. I know it's not much, but we'll do our best to get you some more stuff to let you personalize it."

Sam said nothing and simply hugged his father tightly. "Thank you. I've never had a room of my own."

"Well, now you do, kiddo." Judy giggled warmly as Sam hugged her too.

"So what did you need, Sam?"

"Can we watch the newest Batmammal movie together? All three of us? Please?" Sam gave his best puppy dog eyes.

"I don't know, Judy, how can we say 'no' to that face?" Nick allowed a smirk to play over his faced as Judy giggled.

"Sure thing, Sam." Judy nodded, grinning from ear to ear as they walked to the living room.

* * *

"So," Sam spoke up after the two had been almost deafened by the pervading silence, his clear voice snapping Nick back to reality. "You didn't get anything from the Orphanage, Dad?"

Nick shook his head. "Na-da. Zip, nothing. I've only moved a few times but this letter was from an address I've never lived at." He got up and went to his work desk, pulling out the letter from the top stack, showing it to Sam. "See? This looks nothing like my paw-writing." Nick showed his signature to him and shook his head again.

"Yeah, nothing like mine." He pulled his pen and signed his signature on a blank sheet of paper, showing it to his son who simply nodded.

"This one is all loopy." Sam pointed to the forged signature, then pointing at Nick's original. "And this one is kinda...hard to read."

Nick bit back a chuckle, grinning a bit. "Yeah I know, my paw-writing is kinda bad."

"But enough of this," Nick scrapped the paper with his signature on it and got up to set the forgery letter back on his work desk. "Go ahead and finish up your breakfast, kiddo. We got a big day ahead of us."

"What do we have to do today?" Sam asked, wiping a bit of milk from his lips with the back of his paw as he worked on eating up the rest of his food.

"...You're going to be meeting your Grandma Marian for the first time." Nick replied with a smile.

Nick's phone buzzed: _"Hey, Slick Nick~ Going on break right now for lunch, hope everything is going okay for your first morning."_

* * *

Judy's phone bleeped not even five minutes before she clicked her phone to standby, turning it back on she put in her password:

 _"Yeah, it's all good here, Carrots. I'm actually getting ready to take Sam to meet my Mom."_

Judy's face twitched into a smile, spreading from ear to ear. _"Good idea! What better way to have him warm up to you than to have his new Grandma spoil him with sweets?"_

She tapped her phone screen off, deciding to take the bus to the new coffee shop that Clawhauser had recommended to her a few days ago. From what she recalled, they had a carrot spice cappuccino that was simply to die for. Well, she had to see if it could live up to her mother's old family recipe, so she would be the judge of Clawhauser's claims.

Her phone went off. _"Oh dear God, I don't know what I would do with a hyper-active six year old kid. I already have a hyper bunny to deal with."_ The text read, followed by a winking fox emoji.

 _"Har har, very funny."_

 _"Hiiii Miss Judy!"_

 _"Was that Sam?"_ Judy suppressed a giggle, smiling.

 _"Yeah, he wanted to say 'Hi'."_

What she got next was unexpected, Nick sent a voice recording of Sam: _"Hi Judy! I'm glad you becaome my friend yesterday!"_

 _"Hi, Sam. I'm glad I became your friend too. You be a good boy, ok? I'll see you after work, deal?"_ Judy sent her own voice text.

 _"Ok! Can't wait!"_

Judy chuckled to herself, it was strange when she thought about it. The boy was so open and optimisic as any other child, yet there was that small hesitation she sensed every time he talked to either of them. It was better not to press him to open up more and just let him warm up to them in time, not forcing themselves on him. At least that was what she thought, or maybe it was just her police rule-bound mind over-thinking things, _again._

 _"Me again."_ Nick texted her again. _"So uh... about that text I sent you last night. About wanting to talk about personal matters."_

 _"Are you okay?"_ Judy stared at her screen, figuring that Nick was a bit hesitant seeing how he took a while to respond, watching the pulsing dots as he typed.

 _"...I'll have to talk to you later about it, Sam wants to take the cruiser out for a ride."_

Judy's ears went droopy at both the fact that she was blocked from further helping him out and the thought of the 'joyride' he had planned. _"PLEASE don't get any scratches or dents, or Bogo will have both of our badges if you bring in one more busted car."_

 _"I'm sure Bogo will understand this time if there were a few, especially if I have Sam use his 'Wilde Charm'. And besides, those last two times were not my fault! They rear-ended me on purpose."_

Okay, Judy will admit, the thought of Sam using the so-called 'Wilde Charm' made her laugh out loud, disturbing the other passengers as it was a bit louder than she realized. Muttering a quiet sorry, she texted back:

 _"Possibly. Just be careful you two, I don't want to get called off early from my lunch to come after you."_

 _"I promise, Mrs. Wilde~"_ Despite that joking remark, Judy caught herself rolling off his surname with her own... Wilde-Hopps? Hm, interestingly fitting.

 _"Good, Mr. Wilde~"_ Judy clicked her phone screen off again, approaching her stop and disembarked, humming a nameless tune as she spotted the coffee shop a few buildings down.

As she approached the shop, reading the name in big bold letters "The Shanghai". Seemed like another high-end shop, hopefully it wouldn't break her wallet. She pressed her paw on the railing and slipped inside, greeted by the cool airconditioner as her eyes took in the small quaint building. Like the Orphanage, it balanced elegent and humble quite well. It was honestly a bit unsettling, she was so used to her humble beginnings in Bunnyburrow. She didn't know what to think of all this, as Nick put it, 'fancy-schmancy' artwork and structure put into the small business. Maybe they were just that good.

"Can I help you, Officer?" Judy was jolted out of her admirations that she failed to notice a young Raccoon waitress standing before her, who simply bowed.

"I apologize for startling you. My name is Yuuko, I will be your waitress for your stay. Or if you prefer to take your order on the go, we can accomodate that as well." She spoke with a wavering voice, as if she were intimidated by the rabbit.

"Thank you, Yuuko. And it will be for here, please." Judy responded kindly to the young mammal, who simply bowed again and led her to a table with a modest view of the city.

"What would you like to drink?" Yuuko asked timidly, fidgeting with her server platter.

"A friend of mine recommended me the carrot spice cappuccino, could I have that to start with?" Judy answered politely, giving a warm inviting smile to try to loosen up the raccoon who again bowed and left without a break in her stride.

"Hm..." Judy frowned softly, deciding it was simply the girl was over-worked and decided not to probe any further. It was being too nosey, afterall.

She turned her head to admire the cityscape, resting her chin in her paw as she eyed the large palm tree building. She only had a vague idea of what it held, as most of the websites simply asked for a membership account number to get access to the site. After trying to apply for a membership, she discovered the price had _way_ too many zeroes and gave up shortly after that. Judy got the vibe that it was for upper-class mammals who pretty much sweat money and wouldn't allow the 'lower-class' mammals in to their 'prestigious establishment'. Maybe one day she could see what it was like, but definitely not today or any other day this year she thought with a bit of 'Nick' humor.

"Ah, here you go, ma'am." once again, Judy was roused from her idle musings as Yuuko appeared back with her drink, bowing again. "Umm, are you ready to order?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I was lost in thought that I didn't get a chance to look. One moment please." Judy opened the menu, scanning through it. "I'll have a slice of lemon meringue pie, please."

"Coming right up, ma'am." Yuuko bowed, acceping the menu and left as quickly as she had appeared.

As Judy gently blew on the drink to cool it down, she spared a glance around the room and realized that there wasn't that many customers in the shop. Was Yuuko naturally this timid? While lost in her thoughts, her eyes were drawn to an older male fox that was seated just across from her. She at first paid him no heed but then she had to do a double-take as she thought he looked a lot like Nick. Embarrassingly to say, she was able to easily distinguish the differences. Judy blinked as she realized that she was comparing her friend to this other fox, why did she always feel this way about him? Her heart knew the answer, but her mind and years of living under the roof of her parents teachings made it hard for her to admit it to herself. She had been falling for him.

Oh who was she kidding, she had fallen for him long ago. Yet her fear of over-thinking, over-analyzing everything between them... As much as she hated to admit it, Bellwether had been right about fear working. It frustrated and honestly slightly scared her how much of an influence that night had on both of them, as if the culprit had opened their eyes to what they have been ignoring all this time. She grit her teeth, shaking her head. Judy would tell him eventually, he just found out he has a son... love would have to come a little bit later. Nick had enough on his plate already, she didn't want to make it too complicated for him right away, he went through enough emotions for one week. Maybe that's what he wanted to talk about? It sure seemed like it from the way he sort of dodged talking about it right away.

She quickly shook it off as she took a sip of her drink, letting out a sigh of relaxation as she sat back in her seat, trying to sort out her thoughts. She had started to list out pros and cons of starting a relationship with Nick as she sipped on her drink, enjoying the beverage as it was very close to what her mother had made...

 _Wait, that's it._ Judy realized, her eyes widening. _Mom can give me advice on this._

She brought out her phone and clicked the screen on, pausing as she stopped at the lock screen, staring at the selfie she had taken of Nick and herself. She sighed fondly at the memory before typing her password in and hit her MuzzleTime app. Hovering her finger over the 'Call' as Yuuko bowed beside her, sliding the plate of pie in front of her.

"Fresh from the oven." Yuuko said quietly.

"Thank you, Yuuko. Here, for you." Judy smiled, sliding a $10 into her apron. "You've earned it, I've never had such friendly service before."

"Oh, Officer, I can't accept this." Yuuko stammered, her face turning pink as she wrung her paws.

"Nonsense." Judy giggled. "Always keep a chin up, don't let anything get you down."

Yuuko gave a small hesitant smile. "...Thank you, I'll try my best. Thank you again, Officer."

"Please, call me Judy." The rabbit took a gratful bite of her pie. "And compliments to the chef."

"I will let them know, Judy." Yuuko bowed before disappearing into the kitchen.

Judy took a few more bites of pie before wiping her lips on a napkin as she picked up her phone and pressed 'Call', putting in her earbuds as it rang twice before her mother picked up.

"Judy! How are you, sweetie? Everything okay?" Bonnie brightened up, smiling warmly at her daughter.

"Hey, Mom. I'm doing good and everything is okay so far. How's everyone there?" Judy replied, smiling right back. Goodness... she realized that she had been smiling a lot lately. Well, that simply meant that life was going good.

"Everyone is doing fine. Pop-pop is going about his rants as usual." Bonnie chuckled, clearing her throat. "I take it by the twitching of your ears you've got something you need to talk to me about?"

"How'd you-?" Judy began.

"Mother's intuition." Bonnie chuckled. "I didn't spend near 27 years being your mother and not being able to read your tells."

"Fair enough." Judy sighed, her ears flattened against the back of her head. "I guess to start with, Nick uh..."

She swallowed, trying her best to put on a smile but could only guess what her face looked like to her mother.

"...Nick's a Dad." Judy whispered, noting how Bonnie's expression changed at once. "I-It's not what you think!"

"So... it's not yours?" Bonnie frowned, her ears twitching.

"No!" Judy said, almost too quickly that she bit her tongue. Strangely, Judy felt like a small knife pierced her heart. Why was she so willing to accept that Sam wasn't hers, yet wishing at the same time that he was?

Clearing her throat, she continued: "It was a vixen from his past. She ah..." Now it was Judy's turn to frown, wondering it was a good idea to be discussing this so openly in public and without Nick there to give his side of the story. "Well, I'll have to tell you the full story later, but Samhain Wilde, Nick's son, is six years old right now. I'm gonna do the best I can to help him through this."

"Good for you, he needs a strong mammal like you in his life, I'll bet. Be sure to bring them around so we can spoil him." Bonnie chuckled.

"Oh I'm sure he's getting plenty of that at Marian's." Judy giggled. "That's Nick's mom, remember her from Nick's graduation?"

Bonnie nodded. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there more that you wanted to talk about?"

Judy sighed, scooting closer to the window and looked all around the city for a moment to collect her thoughts before finally managing the courage to look her mother in the eyes.

"...When did you first realize you were in love?" Judy asked quietly, causing Bonnie's ears to perk up.

"When... I realized I was in love?" Bonnie repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes." Judy replied, her ears burning as her nose twitched at what her mother was thinking of her right now.

"Well... with a fox or-?" Judy jumped a bit as she heard a yell she knew all too well and suppressed a sigh.

"EH?! A fox?!" Apparently the phone was snatched away by her grandfather Pop-pop.

"Hey, Pop-pop. How are you?" Judy grinnd sweetly, hoping that he would give the phone back to her mother.

Out of all the mammals that she wanted to know that she had been falling for a Fox, her grandfather topped her own father when it came to 'staying with your own kin' as he said. She resisting the urge to face-paw as her grandfather came into view and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wha's that? Trudy yer in a t.v.! Wha' are ye doin' in there, young'un?" Otto Hopps adjusted his glasses, squinting at the scream as he waved off Bonnie's paws.

"I was talking to Mom, Pop-Pop." Judy said politely. "Can you please give her back the phone?"

"Yer in love with a Fox, Trudy? I hear tha' righ'? Mine ears ain't what they used ter be, but Ah clearly heard 'Fox'." Otto's nose flared as his eyes narrowed. "We don' need no no-good schemin' fox in our fam'ly. They're fur is red 'cuz they were made by the Devil!"

Judy sighed, setting her phone down and rubbed her face, this is the last way she expected this conversation to go.

"And they'll eat ye alive, Trudy." Pop-pop went on and on before having the phone successfully snatched away by Bonnie.

"Sorry Bun-Bun, we have to give Pop-Pop his meds. If you're still free, we can talk later." Bonnie said quickly as Judy heard a smash of glass and her grandfather's yelling grow louder and the screen paused, the call ending.

"Great..." Judy mumbled, setting her phone down with a sigh and rubbed her temples.

"You okay?"

The rabbit officer looked up to see Yuuko and... Clawhauser? She blinked in surprise, not expecting to see him here at this hour, he was usually busy at his desk filing paperwork for the Chief.

"...Family problems." Judy replied simply, trying to put on a smile and then frowned as she realized Nick had been rubbing off on her, in more ways than one. She wasn't one to usually hide her emotions, she was more of the practical, no-nonsense type.

"Maybe we can help?" Clawhauser took a seat across from her as Judy gave a genuine smile this time.

"That..." She mulled it over, nodding. "Yeah, I need someone to talk to about this, I've been bottling it up for long enough as it is. Thanks Benji."

"Anytime, Judy." Clawhauser giggled, smiling as Yuuko slid in next to him, now on her lunch break.

 **A/N: Well, that concludes this one. I'll have the next out as soon as it's finished. Tell me what you all thought, I enjoy reviews very much. :)**


	5. Everyday Fantasy

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm trying my best to get the chapters out ASAP, but I don't want to rush them. As much as I adore Wilde-Hopps, I want to do everything I can to get all of this right.**

 **Again, I am not with-holding the story on purpose. I just want enough time to make sure I'm doing Wilde-Hopps justice.**

 **And extra special thanks goes to Armae who helped me through my writer's block. :)**

"So... if someone walks across a really really busy street without looking for cars, what is that called?"

"Um... something... lay-walking?" Sam frowned, tapping his chin as he tried to remember.

"Jay-walking, kiddo." Nick chuckled.

"I knew that!" Sam pouted, crossing his arms.

Nick laughed, smiling a bit at his son as he stopped at a red light. "It's okay, just remember Judy might quiz you on that kinda stuff. She might even give you a crash test course to make sure you're educated on street safety."

"A what?" Sam asked, his pout disappearing, replaced with curiosity.

"Er... Crash test course. Kinda like an obstacle course, you know, a spot where she can test your street smarts."

"Oh, I see." The silver furred fox nodded, as if he had known all along.

It was silent for a little while as Nick started driving again, Sam tapped his feet against the seat as he looked out the window in wonder. Real live snow! He opened the window just a little to stick his paw out to catch a small glob that fell from a roof as they were stopped by another red light. Closing the window and cradling the small bit of snow in his paws, he frowned as it melted from the heater from the air conditioner and his own body heat.

He'd always loved the snow, even though he hadn't really experienced it himself. He had the chance when they were bound for a fieldtrip to Tundra Town museum a few months ago, but it had been cancelled due to extreme weather. It was broken a few months ago, from what the teachers said when they cancelled the trip. While the replacement trip had been just as good, it still bummed out Sam he missed out on real snow. Except for his new home with his Dad, this was the farthest he'd been away from the Orphanage. His new grandma apparently lived somewhere in the huge snowy place and he was all the more excited for it.

"So um," Sam looked at his father, who kept his eyes on the road when the light had turned green again. "When are you and Judy gonna get married?"

Nick's foot slipped and he slammed on the brakes by mistake, causing the car to skid before he quickly corrected himself, his eyes wide as he coughed when the car behind him laid on the horn. His heart hammered in his chest, that could have gone really bad.

"S-Sorry, Sam." He quickly apologized, noting Sam was jolted against the seatbelt. "And what do you mean me and Judy? Married?"

"Well... don't girls and boys who like each other get married? You like Judy, don't you?" Sam tilted his head, his curious expression melting Nick's heart as he sighed, giving a smile as he focused on the road.

There was no beating around the bush on this one, Nick relented.

"...Yeah, I like Judy. I like her a lot, Sam. But don't go around shouting it to the city." Nick chuckled as Sam beamed at his victory. "But this is the real world, not some cartoon, kiddo. Unfortunately... relationships like me and Judy... actually _being_ together, they aren't fully accepted yet. Maybe one day. But right now, me and Judy can't be together because the city just wouldn't agree with it."

"You didn't get to meet him yesterday, but Winnie's step-dad is a snow leopard." Sam replied. "And both Winnie and her mom are foxes, remember?"

"Really?" Nick asked, genuinely surprised at the revelation of Winnie's parents. "We actually had a husband and wife come in to work that were different species yesterday, so I guess I'm..." he frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing, grown up stuff, Sam." Nick told him politely, mentally smacking himself as that only piqued Sam's curiosity even more. "It's something I'll have to discuss with Judy, but not right now. We're busy enough as it is, I don't want to add to it."

"So, Winnie's step-dad in a snow leopard?" He asked in an attempt to change the topic.

"Yup. Having different parents is not as... um... what's the word?"

"Uncommon?" Nick offered, his son nodding with a smile. "I mean yeah, I've seen mixed couples before, but only when no one else is around to judge them for it."

"But why do people not like mixed families?" Sam asked.

Nick sighed, unsure of what to say. "I don't know, Kid... wish I knew the answer to that one."

* * *

Clawhauser and Yuuko looked at eachother as Judy finished her story.

"Man, and here I thought my brother in Washfangton had it rough." Ben pulled out his phone to text Nick when Judy stopped him.

"Please don't try to coax him into asking me out." Judy frowned, her nose twitching. "He has enough on his plate, I'm sure dating is the last thing on his mind."

Yuuko nodded. "I agree. Once everything settles and goes back to normal, you should invite him here to talk it out. I'd be willing to talk to the manager to give you two privacy if you wanted."

"Maybe we'll take you up on that, thanks." Judy smiled gratefully. "And another thing I've been considering. Nick has made a few remarks, although he has been jokingly doing it, about me moving in with him. Sam really likes me and I've spent plenty of nights- not like that, Ben!" She scolded lightly, noticing Clawhauser getting his "Squee!" face on. "I've stayed the night over there and it feels like home."

"Maybe casually mention that you want to move in?" Yuuko suggested, and Judy noticed she scooted a bit closer to Ben as she said so.

"I've been seriously considering it. But if I move in... what... if he meets someone?" Judy asked, the nameless fear worming into her heart as she said that, wincing visibly.

"Jude are you kidding?" Ben spoke up, noisily sipping from his drink as Yuuko jumped involuntarily at the sound. "That fox is head over tail for you, have you not seen all the signs that he's in love with you? Delgato has $50 on you two finally admitting that you're dating."

"Yeah well... wait there's been bets on me and Nick?!" Judy asked, horrorstruck.

"Uhm no?" Ben said slowly as he grinned sheepishly while Yuuko sighed, shaking her head so she decided to let it rest. She would bring it up later.

"But back to the main issue, that's the problem." Judy looked down at her paws, fidgeting nervously. "We've known each other for almost a year and a half, that half being the time we had that fight and split up at the ZPD during the Bellwether case. I don't know if it was love then, but at that point, I knew I needed him by my side. All that time I spent away from him hurt more than I wanted to admit then... I felt empty."

Her paws went to her badge and squeezed it gently as she remembered. "I found him after talking to his old friend... we both ended up crying, big surprise that it was me more than him, and we made up. I've known for a long time we've had a strong thing going, an unbreakable bond that can't be cut. It's steadily been growing and growing into something more. And now that I've gotten it all off my chest, I can finally admit to myself that I'm in love. But it's that love that also scares me."

"Hearing how your grandpa reacted, it's understandable." Yuuko said gently. "But if I'm understanding what you said correctly, it seems like your Mom was somewhat optimistic and open to the idea. Most mother's give their children the benefit of the doubt above all else, and I'll bet she's willing to help you through this. She's your Mother, it's her job to take care of her kid."

Judy smiled, her resolve renewed by Yuuko's advice and her promise that she remembered she made to herself the night Nick drank the whole bottle of scotch.

 _Right then and there, damn all the consequences of anyone. She wanted to do the best she could to be there for him, to make him see the bright side of everything. She didn't care if people would label them as a couple, hell. as much as she fought her urges, she desperately wanted that. But the age old fear lingered, would he even love her back?_

Now she knew, she realized all the signals that they had been sending to eachother that they had blindly dismissed as simple close friendship. He loved her more than he wanted to admit, he had the same fear as her, afraid to ruin what they had. Maybe not now, but one day soon they would have to face what they were feeling together. She kept telling herself that it was better to wait, but every time she repeated it in her mind, her heart pounded in her chest, screaming at her to tell him.

She loved him, with all of her heart and soul... more than any other guy she had ever met in her life.

"Damn the consequences or what the naysayers think of us," Judy murmured, smiling wryly at her friends. "We'll make this work, me and Nick always do. You only find true love once in your life... this is it."

Ben and Yuuko smiled, nodding as Judy blinked when their paws slid together.

"You're not alone in the mixed department." Ben grinned, smiling at Yuuko.

Judy beamed widely at them, deciding to text Nick.

 _"You aren't alone in all this. I'm here for you, no matter what."_

"'Kay, we've got a little bit more time before we gotta go back to work. When did you two hook up?" Judy grinned at the pair, who blushed immediately.

* * *

Nick chuckled softly as he read the text. _"Wouldn't want it any other way, Carrots."_

"Apartment 3-F." Nick announced, looking at Sam, who could barely contain his excitement.

"Want to do the honors, kiddo?" He motioned to the door, with Sam raising a shaky paw and gave a few short sharp raps to the door.

A few seconds went by until they both heard pawsteps approaching the door from somewhere else in the apartment. The sound of a deadbolt lock being undone and a chain rattling from the other side of the door, it opened and standing before them was Marian Wilde.

She was dressed in a light purple gown and had an apron tied to her waist, the scent of freshly baked cookies wafted toward the father and son, rousing both of their stomachs despite finishing breakfast only an hour prior. She put her paws on her hips and looked at Nick with an expression of mock sterness, who held her gaze for a few moments before she looked at the young fox next to him.

"You're late, Nicky~" She 'tut-tut'ed, shaking her head and stepped foward to hug him close, which he gratefully returned. "And who's the little one? Wait..."

Marian's eyes squinted as she took a closer look at the child, who uneasily shivered under her analyzing gaze.

"Sorry, Ma. We had to get up first, but anyways... I want you to meet someone." Nick smiled as they broke the embrace, he stepped closer to Sam and laid a paw on his shoulder. "Ma, I want you to meet Samhain 'Sam' Wilde... m-my son, and your grandson."

The air was deathly quiet, a small chill going up Nick's spine as Marian's eyes widened to the size of saucers and her muzzle fell agape, taking a good long look at Sam again. She stepped back as she noticed the similarities, putting a paw over her mouth as her gaze flicked from Nick to Sam.

"Y-You and Judy lied about-?!" It all seemed to happen in slow motion as Marian fell back, fainting.

"Ma?!" Nick rushed to her in alarm, kneeling next to her.

"...You killed her." Sam said quietly, his eyes widening and Nick shot his son a small glare.

"I did not!" he snapped, then shook his head. "Sorry, Sam. But I didn't, she just fainted."

Sam watched as Nick scooped up his mother with ease, carrying her inside and he followed close behind. Shutting the door behind them, he lay Marian on the couch, disappearing into the kitchen and reappeared with a cold rag. Laying it across her forehead to cool her down, Nick shook himself as he grumbled and went to her thermostat; turning it down. Stepping into the kitchen for a quick minute, he double checked to make sure she wasn't burning anything. After setting her cookies aside to cool off, he went back into the livingroom.

"She always kept this place way too hot. You okay?" He asked, Sam nodded. "Let's have Grandma rest for a bit, there'll be time for introductions later. Want to see some of Dad's old toys?"

"Toys?!" Sam's face brightened at once, his child-like features shining as Nick grinned, leading him to his old room.

It was exactly as he had left it when he was 12 years old, he realized when he let Sam into the small room. The posters were a little ripped in all the right places he recalled, slightly faded from the sun. His curtains were faded from years of being in one spot, all of his old toys were stacked haphazardly in his chest where they had collected quite a bit of dust. Even the old burnt patch of rug from him playing with matches was still there, Nick mused to himself.

"Oh wow!" Sam gasped, going to the toy box and started rummaging through it.

Nick chuckled as his son busied himself with exploring every inch of the box while he went to his old closet, sighing softly as fond memories came back to him as he peered through all of his old clothes. Blinking as his foot knocked over an old box, spilling it's contents; he knelt to pick it up and realized it contained all of his old Junior Ranger Scout gear.

"Dang... I forgot about all this..." He murmured, sorting through all of the old articles until he found his shirt, running his paws over it with memories coursing back to him. With a small sigh, he folded his shirt and involuntarily jumped as he realized Sam was standing next to him, looking up at his father with a curious expression.

"What's that?" Sam asked, breaking the silence from Nick.

"Well... it's a uniform from something called the 'Junior Ranger Scouts'. I was one of them when I was your age, centuries ago." He replied with a slightly pained tone before he ironed it out with one of his jokes, taking a deep breath and held the uniform out to Sam. "Here you go, try it on, see if it fits."

Stepping out for a minute to let him change, the fox re-entered the room to find the near splitting image of himself as a kit standing before him. The young silver furred fox smoothed out the shirt and gave a wide grin, pulling on the cap and gave a peace sign, giggling.

"What'dya think, Dad?" he asked, while Nick was speechless for a moment. He soon regained his voice and gave a warm... fatherly smile.

"I think it looks great on you, Sam. It's yours now." he replied as Sam beamed yet again.

"So... what made you want to be one? A Scout?" Sam asked as he pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked around the room with them, focusing on Nick's face.

Nick grinned in his usual manner and crossed his arms. "C'mon, I can't give you all the answers, learning things for yourself is all about growing up. You're a smart kid, Sam, how about you figure out this riddle?"

Sam pouted for a moment, but then smiled as he accepted the challenge. He sat next to the toy box, rummaging through it as he started to sort through what he knew about his father. He was a cop, that was obvious. They took some kind of oath when they got the job, didn't they? "Protect and Serve", he had heard Judy say once. Protect and serve... the city? The world?

"Judy mentioned wanting to protect and serve." Sam said, looking at Nick who nodded. "So, you joined because you dreamed of doing that?"

"Our dreams were nearly alike." Nick spoke, further confusing his son.

"Making the world a better place?" Sam frowned as he was further frustrated. "I heard her say it in a spe... speech? Speech once."

"There you go, kiddo. I wanted to join because I always dreamed of making the world better, just as Judy has." Nick smiled warmly, patting his son on the back.

"You helped too, didn't you?"

"Nah, just barely." Nick grinned, being modest.

There was silence again as Sam continued to frown, deep in thought as Nick chuckled.

"Keep thinking more, Sam. I can see steam coming out your ears." He joked lightly, ruffling his kit's head.

"Do you think maybe I could join?" Sam asked as Nick busied himself with clearing out a few more boxes from his old closet. "The Scouts, I want to make the world a better place, like you have."

Nick stopped for a split second, his past clouding his mind for a few moments but he admired his declaration. "Kiddo, It's an awesome idea but, I'm not so sure..."

He bit his lip as Sam's face fell.

"I'm going to be going back to work soon, and I just don't want to commit to something like that and not being able to take you to it myself." Nick explained, while it was partly true, he was also hesitant to let his own son into the Scouts, for fear of his own experience happening to Sam.

"Okay..." Sam sighed, taking off the hat as his ears flattened against his head.

"Shoot." Nick grinned, gently kneeling in front of him and tilting his head up to look into the small eyes that reflected his own. "Tell ya what, you promise to give it your all in your new school, and I promise we'll go down sometime this weekend to go get you registered. Sound good?"

Sam's mouth fell open, both at the thought of being in a public school and at the offer. "For reals?"

"For reals." Nick chuckled, holding up his pinkie, to which Sam returned and gave a hug.

He pat his son on the back, emotion overcoming him as he tightened the hug enough to hold Sam as close as he could, but not enough to hurt. He noted that Sam did the same and even nuzzled into his chest. After a few moments, they broke the embrace and the kit stepped back.

"Thanks, Dad. For being here."

"Anytime Kiddo. And lookie here~" He smirked, opening up another dusty box and pulled out his old NES with two controllers. "Wanna play some games your old man grew up with?"

"DO I?!" Sam giggled, jumping up in excitement at the thought of finally figuring out what a 'Videogame' was. He'd never played or seen it before, but could only guess that was what it was.

* * *

"Haha! No fair!"

"Alls fair in love and war, kiddo!"

"Well I'm gonna win! Eat my dust, old man!"

"Not if you eat mine first!"

Marian slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry as she was still waking up from her earlier faint. Blinking rapidly, she regained her sight and allowed a small smile to grace her features as she saw the scene before her. How long had she been out, she wondered to herself. With a quick glance at her clock, she realized she had been out for almost two hours!

Apparently during this time, Nick had brought out his old gaming system he played with as a child. Fondly, she remembered how frequently she grounded him from it but she had always ended up giving it to him by the next day after one too many 'Wilde' guilty eyes. She giggled quietly as Sam shoved Nick aside when he lost yet again and was reminded how much they resembled herself and Nick when he was growing up. It... was so soothing and comforting how close they seemed.

She decided it was time to make her presence known as she sat up, stretching and yawning.

"Goodness... all this ruckus woke me up from my beauty sleep." She grinned as her son and her... grandson, dear God she had a grandson now! They paused their game, both looking at her.

"How could you get any more beautiful, Ma?" Nick grinned back.

"Flatterer." She shook her head, standing up slowly. "Sam, it is very nice to meet you, but me and... your Dad need to talk. I promise we can all spend time together after we talk. You can help yourself to the cookies I made in the kitchen." She started as she realized they could have still been in the oven, but was assured Nick had caught them in time.

"Thanks, Grandma Marian." Sam hopped up, skipping to the kitchen. Marian herself felt a small thrill course through her as she was called that, not able to stop herself from smiling at that.

Marian stood up and walked to Nick's old room, who followed with a slight knot in his stomach as he closed the door behind them. His mother took a seat on his old bed, her eyes on the floor as she struggled to say what needed to be said.

"I know what you're thinking..." Nick sighed, rubbing his neck. "I should have saved it for marriage..."

 _Saved myself for Judy..._ he thought to himself.

"I wouldn't have much room to talk either, since... your father and I were never married. Yes, I would have liked you to follow tradition but I guess that's typical Wilde luck, eh?" Marian smiled bitterly, shaking her head. "Where is his mother?"

Now it was Nick's turn to shake his head, taking a seat next to her.

"She died giving birth to him." he said quietly, frowning to himself. "I'll have to tell you the full version later when there's no 'little ears' around... heh, jeez I sound old when I'm talking like a Dad."

"How do you think I feel being called 'Grandma'?" Marian chuckled softly, shaking her head a bit. "I figured I'd be at least sixty before I would ever see cubs of yours running around since you never 'got out' in the market."

Nick grinned. "Who says I didn't? I don't call you every time I shack up."

They shared a hearty laugh which died down as the wind started picking up outside, signaling the change in mood as Nick looked into his mother's eyes.

"Alrighty Ma, we both know the 'Wilde Charm' is casual humorus deflection, just go ahead and say what needs to be said." Nick spoke carefully, gauging his mother's expression.

There were a few moments of silence, but no more as Marian's face turned serious. "You do realize the seriousness of this situation, don't you?"

"I know, I have to make a better effort to raise Sam. But with Judy helping-"

"That's just it. You can't have them both." Marian cut him off, her eyes as sharp as her voice, but then she softened her voice and expression. "Nicholas, I'm being honest when I say that there are no real fox families. Ever. It's in our biology-"

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that." He muttered, standing up and walked to his closet to kick at the door gently, a habit he hadn't done ever since he was little.

"I mean it, Nick. Biologically speaking, Foxes mate for life. You can't commit to both a son and a girlfriend. It's just not possible, it's harsh but the truth." Marian spoke gently.

"...I-I didn't _mate_ at least... not properly." Nick shook his head, turning on the light in his closet as he rummaged through his old belonings, coming to a box marked 'John' that made his blood run cold.

"Sam's existence speaks otherwise." Marian replied, crossing her arms as Nick knelt and picked up the box and brought it out.

"Mom... we can continue this later. What..." He put the box down as he sat in front of it, opening it up with shaky paws as Marian gasped. "What is all this?"

"D-Don't!" His mother protested, leaping to her feet and tried to stop him.

"One... two... three..." Nick counted as he held up the ripped pieces of paper, his eyes widening with each one. "Seventeen checks... all from John Wilde. Mom... this was from..."

"Your father..." Marian finished quietly, her eyes downcast as she refused to look into her son's eyes.

"Why?" Nick's voice shook with emotion, his paws gripping the ripped up checks as he glared. "We could have had a good life with all this money, regardless if it came from that low-life."

"All that money couldn't make up for him leaving me pregnant!" Marian shot back, her old wounds reopening from the containment she had worked so hard to keep them in. Her paws shook along with her voice. "I... I thought he was the mammal of my dreams but then he knocked me up and left me to fend for myself! I don't want that to happen to you either!"

"You and I both know Judy is NOT like that." Nick crossed his arms, leveling a glare at his mother. "This at least proves he had some responsibility to at least send you money and..." He took a quick look at the amounts. "Jesus, Ma, did you even consider this? These amounts he's sent you over the years, there's no way a simple mammal can afford this much! He hasn't sent any kind of letter explaining exactly why? Or even tried to visit in all these years?"

"I burned them all without reading them, remember?" Marian muttered darkly. "And why would you care about him? You didn't even go to his funeral."

"And you did?" Nick countered, causing his mother to fall silent. "...You did?"

Marian stood up, making way toward the door and Nick followed her.

"We still have to talk about this!" Nick growled, trying to keep himself under control to keep from blowing up at her.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, he was sitting in front of the tv with a plate of cookies and currently playing Super Weasel Bros.

"Grown up stuff." Marian said flatly, causing Sam to fall silent.

"Hey! Don't talk to my son that way!" Nick grabbed his mother's arm, glaring.

Marian surprised Nick by grabbing his arm in return and started dragging him toward her own room, both deathly silent as Sam blinked, going back to playing his game and munching on the cookies. She shut the door behind them and went to her own closet, neither of them saying a single word for fear of breaking what little restraint either had left. For a moment, the air was still as she brought out an old briefcase and unlocked it with a key from her nightstand.

More silence as she rummaged through the case, old articles of clothing and a few pieces of paper littered the compartments and it was only until he could make out the faded golden initials that Nick realized it was his father's. Marian held her breath as she pulled out a small envelope, the seal broken and held it out to Nick with an expression he couldn't decipher.

"Here..." Marian said. "I've read it about a million times when I first got it, it was when you turned nine. I couldn't dare let you read it because of... your Ranger Scout night. It was the _only_ one I didn't burn, because it had your name on it."

Nick accepted the letter with shaky paws, looking over the plain faded blue envelope, his own name written down on the front with elegant cursive writing. Opening it up, he unfolded the paper and started to read it:

 _My dearest Nicholas,_

 _First, I know you'll be too young to understand all of this. But I just want you to know that I did not want to abandon you, either of you. I loved your mother very much, more so than she would like to believe._

 _However, I must digress... the reason why I am no longer with your mother is also the reason why I can never see you two again. It is a matter of life and death, and I would rather see you grow up to be a happy mammal than to risk your life and your mother's for my own happiness._

 _I cannot relay all the details in this letter, for the fact that it may be snatched up by the wrong paws. However what I will say is this, no matter what you hear about me, if anything at all, I promise that it is all false. Your mother saw the true me, the only time I've ever dropped my facade. I never wanted to bring you two into this and I pray that it will stay that way._

 _Please, for the sake of my happiness, become the mammal that I could not. Live a happy life, and you have every right to hate me, and I don't blame you. I assure you, the reason why I left, it is better left in the darkness and forgotten. Some may call me a monster for what I've done to you and your mother, but it had to be done._

 _Be happy, my child. My eternal love with be with you and your mother, in this life and the next._

 _Signed with sincerest affections,_

 _John P. Wilde_

Nick was silent for a long while, re-reading the letter over and over. "...This is it? That's the excuse he's given? This doesn't tell us anything!"

"If he was being pursued or threatened by someone, he should have gone to the police." Nick growled, now pacing the floor and crossed his arms, the letter fluttering to the floor.

"Nick, please, it was 34 years ago. We need to let him go, John is gone." Marian said quietly, all traces of her anger gone.

"He sent the checks, I get it. But left us almost no way of knowing why?" Nick shook his head, looking at his mother.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde!" Marian said with a tone of voice he well recognized from his childhood and he fell silent. "That's enough. We have more pressing matters to worry about, such as Sam and Judy. Just let this rest... at least for now, you can do your police work later."

She reached out to him and he took her paws in hers, their anger gone completely as he sat next to her, giving a gentle hug.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Old wounds never heal, huh?" He mumbled, sighing.

"They do with the right help. And right now, Judy and Sam are your remedies." Marian spoke softly, smiling a bit.

"I've accepted it right after she gave me my badge. The way she looked so proud of me, how... loving she looked. I want to see that every day." Nick blushed a bit, not used to admitting these things. "Me and Judy, seems like everything is in place for us to take this plunge of starting a relationship. There are times where it feels like the right time, but it's always difficult. I want to love her, but it seems like every chance we get, something happens. We uh... almost kissed, but Sam kinda ruined the moment. Real sweet kid, has my sense of timing."

They shared a chuckle, smiling at one another. It was amazing how they went from angry almost at eachother's throats to laughing about old trivials. It showed how close they were, and even after the time they spent apart, when Nick had gone to see her to patch things up, they had forgiven eachother almost on the spot. And then she agreed to come to the graduation ceremony when Nick was badged.

"I hate to cut our visit short, but I need to get some more rest and take my meds." Marian smiled sadly, patting Nick's paw. "It's almost gone so it should be my last round for the week. I'll have my results given by the end of the month, so... here's hoping it'll all be clean."

Nick nodded, giving his mother another long hug. They parted after long minutes, smiling at eachother when they stood up and went to join Sam out in the living room, surprised to see him still engrossed in his game.

"Like that game, Sam?" Nick chuckled, his son pausing his game to look up and nod, the fox smiling.

"Good, because it's yours now. Only if you promise to take _very_ good care of it." He pat his son's head, who merely squealed in response and tackled Nick to the floor in a hug.

"You've given me more than anyone else, thanks Dad!" Sam giggled, smiling as bright as the son.

"Anything for you, Kiddo." Nick grinned.

"Aw, don't leave Gramma Marian out, got another hug for me, Sammy?"

She 'oof'ed as the small mammal nearly knocked her over, laughing as she rubbed his head and smiled down at him.

"Goodness me, such a strong little boy!" She giggled, looking into his eyes. "Be sure to come back and visit often, I'll always have some cookies ready just for you."

"I will, Gramma!" Sam grinned, giggling.

Nick busied himself with packing up his old NES, making sure all the cords and controllers were with it. As an afterthought, he went back to his mother's room, showing her the letter was all he picked up and slipped it into the box. A silent nod was his response as he went into his old room next and pulled out some of his old clothes just in case. He felt it was luck that Sam was able to fit his Ranger outfit, but he figured it didn't hurt to try to get him to see if his other attire would fit him as well.

When all was said and done, Nick hefted up the now heavy box and smiled. "Thanks for everything, Ma. Sorry we couldn't stay longer."

"It's no trouble at all, I'll be sure to be in 100% condition the next time you two arrive." Marian waved at them, heading to the kitchen for some water for her pills. "Don't be a stranger you two, come back any time!"

"We will, Ma!" Nick called out.

With Sam in tow, they walked over to the door, the silver fox opening it and both were shocked to find Judy behind it, paw raised to knock. Judging by how wide her eyes were and her involuntary jump, she was just as surprised as them.

"Carrots! You okay?" Nick asked, blinking as Judy shifted her weight from foot to foot, appearing nervous.

"Yeah, just fine. I figured since you didn't answer your phone, you were probably still here. Good luck, I suppose. I decided to ride home with you two since I was off work early. Slow day, Bogo said." Judy replied.

"Hey Judy." Marian waved from the kitchen.

"Hi Marian." the rabbit replied politely. "Sorry I can't stay, my feet are killing me from going around all day."

"Nah, it's all good, Judy. I was about to turn in early, meds and all." Marian chuckled, rubbing her neck. "I'll see you three later."

Nick nodded, wishing her goodnight as he shut the door behind them and looked at Judy.

"Sorry, lotta stuff happened. I'll have to explain when we get home later." Nick told her, and she merely nodded in response.

"That's another thing," Judy said uneasily, wringing her paws as they started toward the elevator.

Nick sighed. "Yeah, I've got something I need to talk about with you too."

"Ohhh! Say it at the same time! I've read so many stories about stuff like that, I think it's funny!" Sam giggled, watching the two of them as the elevator doors closed, confining the three of them in the small room.

"I'll say it if you say it, Carrots." Nick grinned at her, to which Judy laughed and shook her head.

"Child." She smirked up at him. "At the same time?"

They shared a laugh and nodded. "3... 2... 1..."

"I think I'm in-" Nick's voice caught in his throat.

"I-I want to move in with you." Judy spoke with a shaky voice, her heating blush rising to the tips of her ears, her courage starting to abandon her before she spoke again. "I figure it would work out in the long run. I can be a good role-model for Sam, be there for him whenever he needs me. And I can even kick you out of bed if you're running late for work. Oh, and expect an alarm clock that actually works." She added with a grin.

Nick felt his grip slacken on the box and his own blush engulfing his face in a bright red, though his fur did a fair job of hiding it. He felt a laugh building in his throat and it came out as a garbled cough coupled with said laugh. He cleared his throat and grinned at her, reluctantly playing the role of the chicken.

"Uh... jinx?"

"J-Judy's gonna move in?!" Sam exclaimed excitedly, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Well, two out of three votes ain't bad." Nick laughed, the doors opening to let them out. "Yup, Sam. Judy's gonna move in with us."

"YAY!" Sam squealed, which caused both Nick and Judy to wince from the force of his cry, swallowing as they tried to stop their ears from ringing.

"Well, shall we go, roomie?" Nick asked, offering his arm to her and Sam gently clutched at Nick's coat.

"Yes, we shall." Judy hooked her hand in his arm, and together they all walked out of the apartment complex to the squadron car.

 **A/N: And here we go~ I apologize immensely for the long wait, I sincerely hope this long chapter was worth the wait. I am trying my best to get them out, but with holidays rapidly approaching, work, family and such, I'm finding it hard to get the words out to get this story out in such a way that I want it properly understood. I have everything planned out, the rest is just filling in the blanks and working on it bit by bit. I'll do my best to give the best Wilde-Hopps story I can! :)**

 **And to let everyone know, the next chapter will take a month later~ Till next time!**

 **Happy Thanksgiving everyone!**


	6. Out Of The Loop

**A/N: As always, thanks for all the love and support. You fans keep me going, as thanks, here's another.**

Nicholas Wilde groaned softly as he slapped at the alarm clock at his nightstand, shutting his eyes tighter and pulled the pillow over his head and tried to block out the sun and the busy morning that was starting up in Zootopia. The fox grumbled to himself when even that didn't work as his phone started to go off with text messages.

Finally after ten minutes of debate, he tossed the pillow and blankets off of himself, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and stood up. Stretching until he felt the satisfying pops of his body waking up, he scooped up his phone and turned it on, scrolling through the messages from Judy.

 _"Hey, get your furry butt up! We gotta go to work, Wilde!"_

He sighed, sending a reply and trudged to his bathroom to take care of his morning duties.

A little bit later, blinking as he dried himself off, he wiped the fog from the mirror and looked at his reflection. His eyes were the same as ever, solid emerald. He frowned softly as he ran his fingers across the three scars across his cheek, the memories of them coursing through his body with a mixture of emotions he couldn't quite place.

Drying off his head some more, brushing his fur down, he pulled on his uniform and pinned the badge to his chest; giving it a small rub of pride. As he picked up his phone, it felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, gripping at his chest as he gasped for breath.

Falling to his knees, he coughed violently and heaved into his toilet. Groaning as he soon finished up, as there was nothing left to toss back up, he flushed and shakily stood up to throw open his medicine cabinet. Grabbing the only bottle of pills he had, he popped two into his mouth and swallowed it down with a large gulp of water from his sink, gasping for breath as it slowly started to seep into his system.

"G-Get a hold of yourself..." He panted, looking up at his reflection, biting his lip and tried to fight off the rising feeling of his stomach getting ready to come back up again as his appearance started to change, almost appearing to melt away as if from a horror movie...

His fur grew darker, almost reddish-brown, his eyes turned from both solid emerald to one jade and one sapphire. Blinking them he focused on himself, trying to put his mind at ease when the rest of him followed suit. He let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding as he stood up straight, looking at himself. No longer a police uniform but a simple pair of jeans and a white tank-top, barepawed. Once the medicine fully kicked in, he let out a sigh of relief as even his house went back to it's old self...

Glancing at his phone, he saw there were neither sent messages nor receieved once, just random numbers on his keyboard. So it had been that too...

"Remember who you are..." he told himself as he shook his head, splashing water onto his face, looking into his reflection. "My name is..."

 _"NICK!_

* * *

Nick woke with a gasp, shooting up to a sitting position as he clutched at his chest. A thick layer of sweat coated his entire body and he felt noticebly hotter than normal while he panted for breath and his heart pounded as if he ran a marathon.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Nick, I'm here." he heard her soothing voice before his blurry vision slowly focused on her amethyst eyes, gently she dabbed at his forehead with a cold rag.

"...B-Bad dream. I-I had the same one again, Judy." Nick spoke quietly as his voice shook, looking at his paws and flexed them, shaking his head while she kept trying to cool him off and console him.

"It's just a dream, Nick." Judy said softly, taking his paw in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. She worried for him a lot, and while yes these dreams had been plaguing Nick for the past month, it could be easily explained. "Hey, I may not be a psychiatrist, but it's simple why you've been having this dream over and over. You've been running yourself ragged trying to catch this forger, the stress of it is taking it's toll finally. Those late nights pacing and going through all of your evidence doesn't really help either."

Nick grumbled to himself. "Yeah well... when I get bills for credit cards I've never even had, you'd be concerned too. None of the addresses they were tied to gave any results. And the address from that refusal letter, nada. I can't find any trace of whoever this guy is, or even if it is a guy to begin with. Whoever this is... they're good."

"Take a break." Judy replied simply before he could go on another rant, earning another shake of the head. "C'mon, please?"

When he remained silent, she continued to talk while taking a seat next to him, taking his paw in hers and caressed it softly; earning a droop of his ears to signal Nick was finally starting to calm down.

"At least do it for Sam, he's having his second row of badges being completed tonight at 7. He's so excited that he's been making a difference ever since joining his troop. Say... I wonder who gave him the idea?" She added with a giggle in an attempt to cheer him up, being rewarded with a small smile from the fox.

"Alright... I'll take a few days away from the case. A bit of R&R will do me good." He conceded, bringing her into a hug that she returned without hesitation. They broke after a few minutes as he finally felt his body and heart go back to normal.

Judy gave a quick chaste kiss to his cheek, turning to head out of their shared room.

"Breakfast will be ready in ten." She told him with the smile that always drove Nick 'Wilde' pun quite intended the fox chuckled in his head. She closed the door behind her to leave him alone to his thoughts.

 _Well... there goes my heart again._ He thought with a smile, throwing his blankets off and got up for the day.

Shedding his shirt and pajama pants, standing only in his boxers, he examined himself in the mirror, not at all like in his dream. He was just himself, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, nothing more nothing less. His eyes were the same emerald, no scars... except for about two on his chest from a playful knife fight in his past as a dumb teen.

Turning on his shower, shedding the last bit of his clothes, he hopped into the steaming hot water. After letting the water run off his back to relax and loosen him up, he turned and began his regular washing, making sure to scrub all of the night from his fur. He needed to be clean for Sam's special day, he thought to himself, humming softly as he let his thoughts roam.

* * *

Judy hummed her own nameless tune, practically skipping around the kitchen as she felt a lot more upbeat than usual. Regardless of Nick having experienced the bad dream countless times over the past month, she also thought he was pushing himself way too hard. And even though it was a personal matter, he was taking it _too_ personal. She felt as if a small sliver of his 'Wilde Charm' was coming back, and not the good type either. More than once, she found him asleep at his desk with paper strewn all over the small space. Addresses and phone numbers were hastily written down and messily scratched out.

True, while she wanted it to end as much as he did, there was no reason for him to work himself to the bone. He took it really hard and although she couldn't blame him, he just need to take it easy to relax his mind, he had been stressed out ever since. He could barely sleep right anymore whenever he _did_ go to bed...

Her thoughts were broken by a small yawn and a tug on her shirt sleeve, looking next to her to see Sam rubbing his eyes with another louder yawn.

"Morning, honey. In the mood for some breakfast?" She smiled warmly at him, and the young kit eagerly nodded. "Go ahead and have a seat, it's almost ready."

"Did Dad have another bad dream?" Sam asked, pouring himself a cup of juice and helped set the table.

Her only response was a nod, sighing as she ruffled his head. "It'll be okay, your Dad will be fine, don't worry so much, Sam."

It was a lie, of course... only to have him not worry while she herself couldn't rid the feelings of dread that something bad was going to happen. Whether she would have the strength to press on, only time would tell.

After breakfast was finished, Nick came out of the bedroom and sat at the table. Judy however, struggled to keep the food in her mouth as it fell open, unable to speak as he grinned at her.

"Well what do you think, Carrots? Dashingly handsome or handsomely dashing?" He chuckled and gave her a wink.

Judy swallowed hard, washing down her drink as she blushed. "All of the above, Slick Nick."

While she had seen him in the uniform more times than she can count, it still amazed her sometimes how handsome he looked whenever he put it on. It just felt like today, there was just something different she couldn't place about him.

He had that extra 'zing!' today, as he smiled at her and the rabbit felt her cheeks turn crimson. The fox appeared even more... sweet cheese and crackers, she shouldn't think like that when Sam was around. She was attracted to him for his charm, his wit and overall fun and just amazing to be around.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer than staring." Nick laughed lightly, rousing Judy from her thoughts and caused her to blush harder. She moved her gaze to her food, continuing to eat. "Jeez, Carrots, just a uniform. I take it you've pined for guys in uniform?"

"What does pined mean?" Sam asked between bites of his breakfast.

And there was also the flirting, she mused. If you told her two years ago she would fall in love with a fox, she would have called them crazy. Now... she was absolutely irrevocably in love with him. If only there were some way she could ease the subject to him, show him that she was interested in more than just friendship. They were already sleeping together, she felt her face heat up even more.

As per the usual, they had forgotten about Nick's apartment being only a two bedroom place, and Judy had offered to take the couch while he was gentlemammal enough to offer his room. After a good bit of arguing back and forth, Judy just went out and asked to sleep with him. Recalling that night, his face at the mention of sleeping together was priceless, even more so than his 'Felony Tax Evasion' face. She quickly explained that it was nothing, since they had cuddled and fallen asleep before. And then she also set in some ground rules, no sleeping in the nude and to respect privacy where it was needed.

She made a mental note to check her blood pressure later to make sure it was still flowing properly, as her ears were positively burning. However, she had tried to keep the fear locked away, it had been a month since she moved in and still she felt... maybe... would she be good enough? Was he waiting on her to make the first move, or had she missed the signals that he wanted to go further? She loved him and she was quite sure, even more so, that he loved her back, yet was it possible that maybe he wasn't ready after all?

"Carrots? You okay?" Nick snapped his fingers in front of her, to which Judy jumped and looked up at him.

"Huh? Sorry, lost in thought." She apologized, grinning nervously.

"You get on me for being out of it, what about you?" Nick smiled warmly as Judy realized he and Sam already finished their breakfast with the young kit going to his room to get dressed for school.

"Sorry..." Judy mumbled, shaking her head as she stood up, cleaning her plate off and brought it to the sink.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Nick asked, picking up on her mood immediately; gently placing the other plates and silverware into the other side of the dual sink. When she didn't answer, he placed his paws on her shoulders, giving a gentle rub and gave a chaste gentle kiss between her ears, which perked a bit. "Your folks told me when your ears get droopy, that you're not feeling well. And even then, I figured it out before they told me."

Her ears twitched when he chuckled in an attempt to lighten her spirits, her shoulders slumping as she started relaxing. "When did you talk to them?"

"Few weeks ago, had some important farming questions to ask them and such." Nick said softly, turning her to face him and tilted her head up to look into her eyes. "Carrots, don't pull a 'Wilde Charm' on me, I know all the tricks."

She was silent until: "...Judy, please tell me what's wrong?"

His voice sounded so vulnerable, she'd only heard him this concerned a few times, finally she mustered the courage to look into his eyes. When she spoke in turn, Nick felt a lump form in his throat as she also sounded helpless. There would be no way of talking out of this one, forget trying to ease into it...

 _Go for broke, Judy_. She told herself, taking a deep breath.

"It's been a month since I've moved in..." She said quietly, keeping her eyes on his. "Am... Nick, am I enough for you?"

"Are you enough for me?" Nick repeated, his face turning serious. "Fluff, what are you talking about? I couldn't ask for a better friend!"

He smiled warmly, gently caressing her cheek and Judy nuzzled into his touch, holding his paw to her face as she turned her head and kissed it.

"You know what I mean, Nick." She whispered, her eyes starting to water. "I'm a rabbit, not a fox... I'm good looking for my own species. But do you...?"

Nick's paw shook a bit as she looked up into his eyes, his expression finally registering that he understood what she was talking about. Almost as if two wires connected and an electric current ran through his body.

"Judy... oh jeez." He shook his head, reality hitting him like a ton of bricks as he brought her into a hug as she choked back a sob. "I don't care about species, you know that. Shhh, shhh... you don't have to be a vixin for me to like you. I like you just as you are, hear me?"

"So y-you do...?" Judy took a deep shaky breath, nuzzling into his neck and breathed in his scent, her body quivering as she reluctantly pulled away to look into his eyes.

"I do, but... we should take it slow, not rushing into anything." He said gently, with Judy nodding as some of her spark started to reignite. Nick smiled and gently kissed her cheek, wiping away her tears with a tissue. "You bunnies..."

"Yeah yeah, we're emotional." Judy allowed a giggle, wiping her remaining tears as she smiled back at him. "Thank you, I don't know what came over me but... I just had to let it all out."

"It's alright, Judy, I'm always going to be here for you." Nick smiled, giving her another hug.

"Dad, are you and Judy done talking? I'm gonna be late for school!" Sam's voice rang out from near the front door, causing Nick to check his watch.

"Crap, we're gonna be late for work too. Coming, Kiddo!" Nick called out, smiling at Judy as he took her paw and they left with Sam to go to the bus stop.

* * *

After dropping off Sam at Sahara Elementary, Nick and Judy headed off toward the Police Station with enough time to spare for a quick coffee. They wasted no time as the pair got their orders to go, as luck was on their side to spare them five more minutes to get inside the Station. When they walked through the revolving door, they were nearly trampled on by a few other late officers, all of them made haste toward the Bull Pen.

* * *

"Alright, settle down, everyone." Bogo cleared his throat as he shut the door behind himself. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes and looked over everyone.

"It has recently come to my attention that in the next two weeks will be the day of Bellwether's plot going up in shambles." All eyes and grins were on Nick and Judy as the duo recieved a few playful punches from the officers nearby them.

"However." Bogo spoke up, silencing everyone. "I have been contacted by the new Mayor that he wants to do something special for all of us so on that Friday at 8 PM the Golden Palm Suites will be hosting a ball."

"A ball sir?" A voice piped up from the back of the room. "As in...?"

"A ball, where you go to dance, eat food, yada yada." Bogo waved a hoof, sighing. But the other officers felt differently, while most were unaccustomed to dancing, a night out in one of the most expensive places in all of Zootopia sounded just fine to them.

"Whoa, so it'll all be covered? We wouldn't have to pay a cent?" Judy asked, interested.

"Well there's the matter of buying or renting tuxedos and dresses, but everything else, yes. It is all taken care of, they will even provide transport for us all." Chief Bogo replied, now showing a glimmer of interest himself as he started reading off the phamplet that was given to him.

"Alright, shut it! You can grab a booklet on your way out, get your heads in the game." Chief Bogo barked, clearing his throat as he pulled his glasses back on.

As per usual, he held out the folders and called out the pairs, until _surprise surprise_ Nick and Judy were left. Nick kept his posture straight as he tried to keep the nerves out of his stomach, that previous time the pair was left last, the fox ended up finding out he had a son. He had given himself to only one person, so he didn't think he would have any more children to worry about. Yet... he tried not to blush as he eyed Judy out of his perpherial vision, a few things coming to him when their eyes connected before he banished the thoughts to the back of his mind as Bogo cleared his throat.

"If you two are done oogling each other." the Chief gave a grunt, slapping down the folder and opened it up to show them a mammal on the front page. "We've been tracking this man for a long while, I figured our two top officers would be able to use their luck to give us a paw."

The mammal on the photograph was wearing a dark olive drab jacket, a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans and was shown in the photo leaving a computer store with two large bags. He was an older bobcat, grey fur covering his muzzle and above his amber eyes.

"Oliver Winston, wanted on more than a dozen counts of hacking into private systems with the threat of exposing military and other various secrets to the public." Bogo crossed his arms as the pair looked over the file that contained a lot more info than their usual suspects.

"And... with all due respect, sir. Why is the F.B.I. not taking this?" Nick asked, frowning as he looked up at his Chief who bore a slightly mixed uneasy and amused expression.

"Believe it or not, he's as slippery as a weasel. They've been searching for him for years and he's always one step ahead, no matter what." Bogo replied. "They've tried so long that they have pretty much given up hope. While he is on their most wanted list, it's next to impossible to find him with his pants down, so to speak."

"...Back up there, Chief." Nick crossed his arms, frowning even more. "If they can't find him, what makes the F.B.I. think we can?"

"Because..." Bogo said softly, taking off his glasses and looked at Nick with an expression that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear. "He's an accomplice of your father's murder."

The air grew deathly silent as Nick's breathing picked up, starting to shake his head as Judy touched his arm.

"No... no no, you've got the wrong John Wilde. He died of a heart attack two months ago." Nick growled lowly, surprised at the rush of emotion coursing through his body. He had no love for his father, yet... strangely having him taken away through murder and the mammal that did him in walking free? Hated or not, Justice had to be done.

"I'm sorry but it's all here." The Chief turned the next page.

And in it laid a detailed report of the evidence found at the scene along with a few photos of John laying on the couch, eyes closed and seemily at peace, only his end was anything but judging by the report. Apparently Oliver had put John into a sleeper hold, which was discovered by the claw marks on either side of the shoulder wounds. Since there was so much debris and scattered items throughout the apartment, it appeared that a struggle broke out and it was assumed John fought him off long enough to strike Oliver with various objects, putting DNA samples marking the bobcat there, as well as paw print evidence on John's body. Instead of simply putting a bullet in his head or choking him to death, there was a strange chemical found in his body that when the lab tested, actually accelerated heart rates at a dangerous amount, causing his vital organ to ultimately fail. It is theorized that he was injected with the substance, since the lab found a very small prick in his neck, seemingly from a syringe.

"What the fuck?" Nick growled, shaking his head, getting up from the chair he and Judy shared, starting to pace. "Why hide this at all?"

"From my understanding and Judy's account, you had no love for the mammal. So why bring it up? Everyone and their precinct has been looking for him. I assumed you would merely brush this off as good riddance and focus solely on trying to bring him in, yet I am honestly shocked you have reacted to it as you have." Chief Bogo replied, crossing his arms with an impassive expression.

Nick clenched his paws, glaring at the ground. "...If he killed my father, then it's possible he would know the reason why he abandoned me and my mother. My father mailed a letter saying that he left due to a matter of life and death, well... seems like the reason he's gone completely now is still out there. I need to know what it is."

"I see." Bogo surmised, nodding as the pieces came into place. "Then I regret to inform you that I will deny you this case, you are too emotionally attached to the subject at paw. I'm sorry, but it would be better if another took this case that would be able to focus-"

"I can take it." Nick seethed, causing Judy to speak up.

"Nick, please calm down." Judy stood up, walking over to him and looked up into his eyes that were brimming with anger.

"Carrots-"

"No buts. I'm with the Chief on this one. We can't-" She began.

"Chief please, I respectfully ask that you let me and Judy handle this case." Nick spoke up, his voice growing calmer and more serious.

Before Bogo could object, he added. "And I offer an ultimatum, if I grow too obsessed with the case or if I step out of line by becoming so hellbent to end the case by any means necessary and in the process, endangering the lives of civilians or co-workers, you may take me off the case completely. And with unpaid leave, or possibly lowered pay with parking duty for the month. I ask for Officer Hopps to have this case with me, as she can keep me from becoming too lost in my past. I only want to see it through that John gets his justice, to bring Oliver to the judge."

Judy's mouth fell open, it reminded her of... well, herself when she was just starting out. Was he doing this to impress her? Did he really want to see if he could bring Oliver in?

Bogo let out a deep, heavy sigh. He set his glasses on the table where Judy and Nick sat only a few minutes before, closing his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was going to relent, they all knew it and Bogo hated it.

With another heavy sigh, Bogo opened his eyes and stared straight at Nick.

"Granted." He finally said, pointing a hoof at the Fox. _"But!_ If you so much as breath the word 'Revenge' or something else along the lines at that, you will be on parking duty for _two_ months with minimum pay. Along with helping Clawhauser straighten up the Rec Room. _Understand, Officer Wilde? Do. Not. Fuck. This. Up."_

"Crystal, Sir." Nick nodded, as Judy looked back and forth between the two.

"Dismissed. Clawhauser will give you the rest of the files." Bogo replied, starting toward the door.

"The rest of the files?" Judy inquired, holding up the bulging folder they had just received. "This isn't the only one, then?"

"Not by a long shot." Bogo grunted, pushing the door open and the two could have sworn they heard him mutter 'I need a vacation'. With that, the rabbit and fox officer looked at one another, at a loss for words.

"...Let's get going, Carrots." Nick told her, taking the file in paw and walked to the door, holding it open for her.

 _~Elsewhere~_

The screen flickered to life, the mammal grunting and blinked to clear his vision since his office was quite dark. His night vision disrupted momentarily and he slowly adjusted to his subordinate on the television.

 _"Sir! I just received word that Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wilde have started searching for Oliver Winston!"_

"I see. Perhaps Zootopia's finest will be the ones to finally lead us to Oliver... and John's secrets."

 _"I can only hope so, sir. Paddington out."_

With a soft grunt, he stood up from his chair, his hands pressed against his back as he surveyed the glowering night city from the wall window, pulling the cigar from his muzzle to blow a ring of smoke and chuckled to himself.

"Yes, John... not even your death will let you evade me. We will find out what you knew. And then destroy it all..."

The sinister mammal chuckled again, flicking the cigar to his ashtray and went to his door, pulling on his coat. A quick flash of light shown in the room as he opened and closed his door behind him, pawsteps receding down the hallway...

 **A/N: I know no excuse would make up for the extreme delay, but I really struggled with this chapter. Mostly due to me starting to write then backtracking and rethinking pretty much the entire chapter. I wanted to end it one way, yet this result seemed so much better to me. Granted, I had it planned out to run another way, but I did some thinking and thought I could combine my original idea with another I thought up while brainstorming for this chapter. So buckle up, Wilde-Hopps fans, it's gonna get even better~**

 **Also it'll probably say it updated recently, not sure if it gives out an Alert like it does for New Chapters, I was just doing some final editing that slipped by me initially.**


	7. Shadow Of The Truth

**A/N: Told you it would get good, here we go~**

Sam sighed, frowning to himself as he held his head in his paw, looking at his lunch forlornly. It had been another crappy morning at school, had been one of many for the past month since he started going here. The only thing he had going for him was lunch and recess, everything else sucked. He missed the Orphanage badly, or rather, the school there. He had more friends and all the teachers were nicer and more understanding.

"What's wrong, Sammy?" The young kit's eyes looked up in surprise to see his best friend Winnie taking a seat across from him, folding up her cane and set it on the tabletop.

"Wait, Winnie? What are you doing here? And uh... how did you know where I was sitting?" Sam asked, his ears perking up as his demeanor changed from seeing a familar face. He bit his lip, hoping she didn't take the questions the wrong way.

"Grandparent's day." Winnie smiled, her paws tracing her tray and felt for her fork. "My Gram asked what I wanted for lunch and I told her I wanted to come see you. So, here we are. Oh and she told me where you were sitting and when I got closer I could hear you sighing." She grinned at him, her eyes focused on the direction of Sam's voice.

As if to emphasis the point, it wasn't long before Gram took a seat next to the kids, and she slid them both two freshly baked cookies from the cashier line that she snagged for them.

"How are you doing, Samhain?" Gram asked kindly, smiling at the kit who returned the smile.

"I'm doing okay, Gram. I just miss the school in the Orphanage." Sam admitted to them, nibbling on the cookie and sighed heavily. "The teachers around here are a bit impatient with my dyslexia, and I still haven't told Dad. I've been lucky that I could at least get my homework done and not have questions asked. But the low test scores are kinda starting to add up..."

"You need to tell him." Winnie responded, blowing on a bit of her green beans and forked them into her mouth, chewing slowly.

Sam groaned, shaking his head. He looked at his food dejectedly, starting to frown and pushed his tray away.

"Hey, Sammy. Look at me." Winnie said gently, tapping the side of her head. "I may not be able to see, but I can tell you're frowning. Come on, smile. Me and Gram came here to see the happy go lucky Sam that I grew up with."

The young kit sheepishly smiled, unable to stop himself since Winnie was always able to make him feel better despite how he was feeling. He finished off the cookie given to him by Gram and hummed.

"So... if I tell Dad, do you think he'll let me go back to school with you, Mrs. Haffer and Mrs. Fauna?" He asked her, his voice hopeful.

Gram 'hmm'ed while Winnie tilted her head in thought.

"Ah, there's my handsome grandson!" The kit was wrapped in a hug from behind and he smiled widely as Marian sat next to him, patting his head.

"Hey Grandma, we kinda need your advice."

"Dyslexia?" Marian asked, forking some of the potatos from Sam's tray of food.

"Wha-?" The kit blinked, his mouth falling open, even Winnie and Gram were surprised.

"Your school calls me instead since they know your father is a busy mammal. I received a few calls about your tests." She pat his head gently, trying to assure him he wasn't in trouble. "You inherited from your Grandma's side, kiddo. It'll be okay, we'll help you through this."

"...Thanks Grandma."

* * *

"Nick?"

"Hm?"

"You've been quiet for a while, are you holding up okay?"

A sigh was her answer, the Fox looking up from the fourth folder out of twelve others, his eyes hardened before he relaxed. The duo were currently taking a short break at the Shanghai to sort through all of the files before deciding the best course of action was to investigate John's apartment and then looking into the evidence locker.

For the past half hour, Nick had been browsing through every folder and picked up small details that really stuck out here and there. It was like trying to put the pieces of a large puzzle together, but with the very vital parts missing. Sitting back and rubbed his face with a paw, looking at Judy for a minute who held a concerned gaze.

Checking the clock on his phone, he noted the time was about 2:49 PM.

"We should get going." Nick replied, closing the folder and put it in the stack. "And don't worry about me, I'm going to be okay. Call me crazy, but I think I've gotten over it and made my peace. I just want to see this through and get this guy."

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Judy muttered, thanking Yuuko when she brought them two drinks to go. "Nick I'm not going to mince words, I'm worried for you."

She blew on the drink, her eyes never leaving his and gently cut him off before he could argue. "I don't want any lies, any secrets, no 'Wilde Charms' of the... past kind. I've trusted you with my life, and all that implies. I want to know that you trust me too, and that you will follow by your word and keep this by the book and to not let your past, or emotions pertaining to your late father get in the way of what's really important here."

Nick was silent for a few minutes, clearing his throat. "Well, now I know where the Chief gets his speeches from." He smiled, reaching over and gently took her paw in his, giving it a loving squeeze.

"Judy, I promise that I will do as I told the Chief. I'm a mammal of my word, such is my nature as a Fox." He told her, his voice never wavering to signal he was serious. "I trust you with my life as well, more than I have with anyone, even Finn. If there's anyone out there that can keep me from going back to my past, it's you."

"That and my mother, she still scares me even after all this time." He chuckled, and Judy noticed a slight shiver, causing her to smile.

"Alright, fair enough. No more buttering me up with that smile, you devil." She winked, her grin matching his when they scooped up the folders and headed off to the Squad Car. "I'll make sure that you'll be a good fox, promise."

Nick chuckled to himself, leaving Yuuko a tip and left to join his friend... girlfriend...?

The thought made him pause, his paw on the handle but soon shook it off and climbed into the vehicle. Without another word, the pair left off to head to John's abandoned apartment.

After a little bit of driving, Nick was the first to break the slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Look, I'm going to acknowledge the Francine in the car." He spoke softly, Judy's eyes on the road who merely snorted in amusement. "I know I overreacted with the Chief. And I also know that it was probably too emotional for me to handle at the moment. But I promise that I'm fine now, I just needed to clear my head and rethink it all."

"And also, this morning kinda-"

He was cut off by his phone going off for a text message. Pulling out it out, he clicked it on and saw he had a message from his mother.

 _"Could you and Judy come over for dinner tonight after Sam's badge ceremony? He wanted to spend the night, so I'll pick him up from school. Also I want to talk to you about something serious tonight."_

"Hoo boy," Nick chuckled, causing Judy to raise an eyebrow. "Mom wants to spoil Sam tonight with a sleepover for his good job as a scout. And she also apparently has something serious she wants to talk to me about."

Judy nodded, lightly pressing the gas pedal down to continue on after another car passed by them and took a turn. The fox quickly texted back that they would love to join, and shut his screen off, pocketing the phone and looked out the window. After about ten more minutes of driving Nick felt his heart-rate quicken for about the upteenth time that day as he realized what they stopped at, checking the address of John's apartment and realized for the first time that the addresses were one and the same.

"Son of a..." Nick muttered, swallowing down the knot in his throat when Judy turned off the car and they got out.

 _Wilde Times..._

* * *

 _"Yes Sir. I see them, have them in my sights and they are entering the building as we speak."_

 _"Oliver Winston is entering from the roof. Just like you requested of him, he's going to meet with them."_

 _"I'll keep you updated, let me know when. Rouge One out."_

* * *

Nostalgia ran through Nick as he let his paw slide over the arcade machines. Most were smashed up by random bricks thrown by passerbys and ruffians. There was even one nearly flattened by a piece of the roof that had rotted and fallen.

 _Tartarus, Mario Kart, Master of Tartarus Rush, Mortal Kombat_ and a few others Nick couldn't remember dotted the area. Those were pretty much the only ones left that weren't smashed to bits. It was surprising they had kept up this long... maybe he could pull them out to see if they still worked. Shaking it off, Nick swept his flashlight over the dusty place, suppressing a cough and waved his paw to clear the area.

"Welp, take a good long look. This used to be a fun hang out in it's hayday." Nick said quietly, his throat tightening. "Sorry you had to see it in this state. I was barely a toddler before Mom had to shut it down, so it's not like I have anything to compare it with."

"It's okay. Maybe one day it could be restored, lots of good machines still here." Judy replied, being careful to avoid shards of glass and machinery that littered the floor while she looked around. "Pretty... glum for a first date, huh?"

"Heh, yeah..." Nick rubbed his neck, both of them jumping as a loud crash sounded right above them in the apartment section.

Thinking quickly, the pair nodded and quietly took the stairs up; stopping at the door to the apartment loft. Nick on one side with Judy on the other, they both drew their guns and after a moment of pause, kicked the door open and rushed inside.

"ZPD!" Nick shouted, his eyes scanning the decrepit remains of the living room.

Their only answer was a cough as a bit of rubble moved in the corner and shuffled away as the mammal sat up and rubbed his head.

Oliver Winston.

Nick tightened the grip on his gun and glared, keeping the weapon trained on him feeling his earlier anger start to boil again before he took a breath and calmed down. Albeit only slightly.

"Freeze, Winston!" he barked, his fingers twitching as he tried to keep his gun steady.

Winston gave a cough, glaring right back and waved them off. "Put tha' down yeh daft fool, Ah'm getting too old fer having ah gun to me head."

Neither lowered their firearms, the pair sparing a glance at the other as Winston slowly rose out of the rubble, grunting when he pushed up and got to his hindpaws with his cane. He really looked quite older than the picture that the pair was shown earlier today. He coughed and wheezed again, shaking himself and brushed off the sheetrock dust clinging to his fur, popping a cigar in his mouth and lit it, focusing his gaze on the two.

"Care fer 'un?" He held out a small package to them, who merely frowned.

"...You're a wanted terrorist and you're offering us a-" Nick bit his tongue, changing his wording at the last second. "A freaking cigar?"

"Ah'm dead anyway, why not enjoy 'un last smoke?" Oliver shrugged, hobbling over to the abandoned couch where John lay a few months prior. The fox felt his blood boil a bit from the casualness the bobcat was using toward them.

"We are _not_ friends. You're a wanted terrorist. A mammal wanted for crimes against mammal-kind. So stop asking like we want to sit down and chat with you. The only chat you'll be having is with the cell door you'll be locked behind for the rest of your life." Nick spat, causing Judy to look at him with concern before the fox took a deep breath and calmed his nerves.

Oliver chuckled. "Well, S'see you inherited that famous glare from yer father. Tone of voice and conviction matches quite well too when he was yer age. A good mammal, good friend."

"...You knew him personally?" Judy asked, trying to keep Nick from saying or doing something he would regret. She gently placed a paw on his firearm, lowering it so he wouldn't accidentally shoot the mammal. Nick allowed it, his fur still slightly bristled, yet his face was beginning to calm down a little more.

"John Wilde was an old buddy of mine... and yes ah know ah'm wanted for his murder, but believe me when ah tell yeh this: He asked me to do it." Oliver blew a ring of smoke, leaning foward, replacing the cigar in his mouth, crossing his paws over his cane and looked at the pair.

"Kid, Ah'm not gonna mince words here, me time is short an'way. What ah say right now, stays between yeh and yer lady friend. Or perhaps Chief Bogo if his records are still as spotless as they were last ah checked. Me crew and ah have been keeping tabs on all that we could, and fer now... trust Bogo, he's a good mammal. Keep yer friends close and yer enemies closer." Oliver looked at him with a serious expression, taking a long drag of his cigar, puffing the smoke from his nose, sighing.

"Nicholas..." Oliver spoke with a gentle voice and for the first time, Nick could have sworn that he could hear the voice of his own father. "He wanted yeh to have this when the time was right, it's a folder of his files he recorded a while back before he died. Trust me when Ah said, there are a lot of corrupt mammals in the world that still want to use the Nighthowlers. Bellwether was just one of many ring leaders in this. Since John's death, Ah've been watching over you with a dear friend of mine."

His eyes glazed over, remenicining as he held up a paw with a USB drive. "Take this, bring them down. You're all we can rely on, the last of the Wilde clan that can take this organization down. He sacrificed his life and the possibility of a happy one just to take them out, that is why he could never see you again. Ah'm not going to pretend to know his exact wordings, it was ages ago... but you meant the world to him. And so did yer mother, oh Lord did he talk about her. Ah can tell ye this much, Ah've never seen a mammal more in love than John was with Marian. His true thoughts lie in that drive. Treat it with care."

Nick gently picked up the drive, turning it over in his paw. He bit his lip when he saw the engraving on the back of a small heart. J & M...

"And Miss," Oliver gently nodded to Judy, who stood straighter in response. He raised his cane, pointing at the small black box strapped to her chest opposite her badge. "Make sure yer body cam footage is well preserved, would'n do Nick any good to be blamed for my death."

"Your..." Judy repeated, her eyes going wide at his implications as he reached into his pocket.

"What are you-?!" Nick began, but was silenced by the sight that it was a phone Oliver was going for, pressing a single button and a jolt of static sounded as if from a walkie-talkie.

"Vivian, sweetheart..." Oliver spoke softly, his eyes starting to water with tears yet he had a smile on his face. "Passed on the torch... go on, beloved. I will see you later."

He closed his eyes, leaning back in the couch. "...I love you too, Vivian."

Before either police officer could even ask what he meant, the window from across the room to the right shattered, causing Nick and Judy to duck. The sound of something whizzing past caught their ears. With a grunt, Oliver slumped over on the couch, a pool of blood forming from a bullet wound to the head. His face still at peace...

"Sniper." Nick growled, taking cover with Judy near the window next to the one that had been fired through, trying to peek out to see if they could spot the sniper.

"Clawhauser, we need back up and we need it _right now_. We have a Sniper at our location and we need evac for Oliver Winston, he was shot down by the sniper and didn't make it." Judy started radioing the Station.

* * *

 _-An hour or so later-_

"So... run this by me again." Bogo crossed his arms, grunting as he surveyed the area. "He was killed by a Sniper that shot from this window." he pointed to it, noting that glass was all over the floor. "And gave a message to you from your father?"

"Yes, Sir." Nick nodded, frowning. "You don't believe me?"

"We have had reports come in of a single gunshot from over 59th Street. That's nearly..." He scratched his chin, frowning himself as he took in the distance. "That's one hell of a Sniper to be able to make a shot from that far away."

"I didn't kill him, I swear on my Mom's grave." Nick replied as he received a knowing look from the Chief.

"Nick!" Judy frowned in disapproval.

"I mean it. Officer Hopps' footage will support what happened, and also..." He looked around as Oliver's body was carted out and other officers were busy taking pictures and notes of the crime scene. He gently pulled the buffalo aside, speaking quietly. "He gave me a drive that belonged to my father, he said it holds the truth of what he's been doing all these years."

Bogo sighed, rubbing his face. "I told you, Officer Wilde. You-"

"My father has been taking down ring leaders trying to continue on Bellwether's schemes. Maybe even before her time too." Nick cut him off, gaining the Chief's attention. "Oliver said that there are other's still out there trying to use the flower."

"...You two, stay in town until further notice. We cannot have this investigation impeded by you two skipping the city for whatever reason. That's the last thing we need is the F.B.I. pointing the blame at you two. Yes you took down a terrorist, but they're a bit... agitated that they were unable to take him in for questioning. Especially their agent Jack Savage, he was appointed to this case for the past few months and you two have made more progress than he has." Bogo crossed his arms. "We will review Officer Hopps' footage and will be in contact shortly. The last thing we need is the F.B.I. locking you up, Wilde. I took an oath to not let my personal feelings get in the way of my job, but... I'm putting my trust in you for this. If what you say is true, this would be the big break we needed since Bellwether herself has gone silent."

"Yes Sir." Both Nick and Judy nodded, giving a small salute.

The pair left the building, wary of all the eyes of the few F.B.I. forces and a few of their own coworkers on them as they climbed into the Squadron car. Checking the time to see it was nearly 5 o'clock and started up the car, deciding to make a quick stop at home before to shower and change before Sam's badging ceremony.

 **A/N: I sincerely apologize that it took so long to get this out, I had extreme writers block and work piling up and getting busier. Finally able to get everything smoothed out and hope this new chapter will make up for it.**


	8. (Un)-Caged Heart

**A/N: I do apologize for the last chapter being a bit shorter than the others but I had originally planned to have it longer. But instead of jumbling it up into one chapter I decided to go ahead and post what I had and save the rest for the next chapter.**

"That's my boy!" Nick whooped, laughing and clapped with Judy and his mother at his side.

Sam's last badge that completed his second row was awarded to him for his medical help with a fellow scout suffering an allergic reaction. His friend in the scouts couldn't get to his allergy shots after being stung by a bee, which he was very deathly allergic to. But luckily Sam was around and was able to give a helping paw.

With pride, the kit puffed out his chest to show his full second row of badges, grinning with excitement as his family applauded him. He tried his best not to start crying at the thought, keeping his chin up and smiling widely. A family... a month had gone by and he had never felt happier. It all happened so quickly, it almost felt like yesterday.

The ceramony was over almost as quickly as it had begun, or rather, it was a blur due to Sam's excitement. The kit ran up and hugged both Nick and Judy, giggling and nuzzled into the pair. Letting go quickly, he gave one to grandma Marian too. It seemed like everything was going great!

"I'm so proud of you, Samhain." Nick smiled warmly, ruffling his son's head with fatherly pride.

"Thanks Dad!" Sam beamed.

He finally had a father to be proud of him, a grandmother to be proud of him. Sam's eyes fell on Judy for a moment to smile at her.

* * *

"It's what Oliver wanted."

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that lame excuse. He could have waited a few more years... I would have been willing to wait."

"Vivian, believe me you, I wanted to keep him alive too. But his mind was made up."

"...You're right, doesn't mean I'm any less upset about it."

"I know how you feel."

"So... what do we do now that Nick has that drive of his?"

"We wait."

* * *

"I want chocolate!" Sam beamed, trying to contain himself as he bounced in his seat.

Nick could only grin as Marian served him up a slice of cake, this was his son's day after wall. And by George he was enjoying it, that was the important thing. After so long of being alone, the fox was sure his son was having the time of his life being with a true family.

"I'm so proud of you, Sam." Nick repeated with a smile that could match the sun, ruffling his kit's head.

"Thanks, Dad." the kit replied, smiling with nothing but frosting and cake coating his teeth.

Nick chuckled and hugged his son, ruffling his head who merely groaned in slight annoyance over having his fur messed up.

"Come on Dad, once is enough." Sam grumbled a bit, then started giggling as Nick tickled him.

Judy and Marian laughed at the scene as it unfolded, the older fox sighing a bit with a smirk as the father and son started getting cake everywhere.

"Alright you two, calm it down." Marian chided after a good hour and a half of watching them go at it. Sam reminded her of when Nick was a youngster, so full of energy and innocence, it was like a blast from the past. Going to the kitchen to get a wet towel and tossing it at Nick, it promptly slapped him in the face with a loud wet smack.

Sam could barely contain his giggles and even Judy herself was having a hard time holding it back, the fox grumbled and started to help clean the cake off the table and their chairs. Yet despite all of this, Judy could almost taste a sinking feeling that something was going to...

 _Ring!_

Sometimes she should really stop thinking that kind of stuff, Judy sighed inwardly.

Nick continued to mutter to himself, and Judy had to lightly step on his tail when she heard him say a few undesirable things that Sam shouldn't hear. He glared at her softly when he saw the name flash across the screen and left to another room to take the call.

"...That was you guy's work, wasn't it?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Unfortunately, it was, kiddo." Judy sighed, giving the kit a hug. "But I doubt he'll be called in. It's pretty late, actually..."

She gently poked his nose, causing the kit to wriggle. "Getting kinda late, Sam. We can't have you staying up all night, can we?"

"Nonsense." Marian chimed in. "It's my duty as a grandmother to spoil him, remember?"

"Five more minutes, pleeeease?" Sam pleaded, giving the world famous 'Wilde Eyes'.

"You should get a bath first, kiddo. You certainly broke up a sweat for school and everything today." Marian wrinkled her nose playfully, going to her closet in the hallway to retrieve a towel for him.

"Awww do I have to?" Sam whined, his ears folding back.

"If you wanna stay up an extra five minutes after your bath, then yes." Marian replied, shooting Judy a wink.

"Yeah, Sam. It's your weekend with your Grandma, she's gonna give you the royal treatment just for you. But only if you do as she says like a good boy." Judy pat his head, which immediately perked up.

"A quest for a Junior Ranger Scout, I'm on it!" Sam hopped up out of the chair, snagging the towel and literally ran down the hallway to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"Sweetie, Grandma's bathtub is a bit old so please-" Marian was cut off by the sound of water flowing.

 _"Got it!"_ Sam's voice sounded from behind the bathroom door.

She chuckled and took a seat at the table, smoothing out her apron and dress.

"...I miss that sound." Marian spoke after a few minutes of silence, at Judy's questioning gaze she continued. "The sound of little paws scampering about. Nick was quite the atheletic one when he was a kit."

"He still is." Judy replied, smiling a bit. "Back when we were running for our lives from Manchas, he was able to keep up with me and even saved my life more times than I can count that night."

"Oh you're too modest." Marian chuckled. "Quite like he spoke of you, it takes two to tango. You two make quite the team."

"That we are, better than I could have hoped." Judy smiled to herself, her ears perking up when she heard Nick returning from his phonecall and tried to keep from frowning when she saw he was mildly upset.

"What's wrong?"

"...Bogo wants me to come down to the station at once." Nick said flatly, sighing and rubbed his face with a groan. "Needs me to help go through that blasted recording even though it's all right there in front of him."

"Do you need me to go with you?" Judy got up but the fox shook his head.

"He specifically asked for me, so uh..." He gave her a hug and a soft kiss between her ears. "I'll see you later tonight, Carrots."

Judy's ears flattened against her back as he kissed her only to shoot right back up the second his muzzle touched her head, feeling warm all over with a slight blush.

"Deal." She looked up into his eyes, giving a gentle punch to the arm. "Don't stay out too late, Slick Nick."

"Try not to. Take it up with Bogo if I do." Nick chuckled, playfully rubbing his arm, giving Marian a hug before gently knocking on the bathroom door.

"Hey Sam, I gotta go early, but we'll be back tomorrow to pick you up so you behave yourself for your grandma, okay?"

 _"I will, promise! Love you Dad!"_

"Love you too, Sam. Goodnight and have a good time."

 _"You too."_

Nick smiled and gave a small wave before leaving the apartment shortly after making sure he had everything. It was quiet for a while until Marian got up to head to the kitchen to take care of the dishes.

"..Need help?" Judy offered.

"I like you, Judy, so I'll be honest..." Marian spoke, shaking her paws free of water and turned to face the rabbit.

On the inside, Judy was screaming in terror from the look she was getting but on the outside she appeared as calm as ever, despite the fact that her ears were folding back.

"...I want you to take good care of Nick." Marian's expression softened, causing Judy to let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"I would rather go to jail than harm him." Judy replied, clenching her paws a bit. "I've... hurt him once before, I don't want to do it ever again. Has... he ever told you about the day we stopped talking?"

Marian nodded. "He asked me for advice on the subject a few days after you left Zootopia."

"Wait, you two talked?" Judy was surprised.

"It was a phone call, but it was the first step we needed to reconcile." Marian admitted, turning back to the sink and starting to wash the dishes. "I wash, you dry?"

The rabbit held up a paw, hearing the bathroom door open and close. "One second."

She left the kitchen and headed to Nick's old room, knocking lightly on the door and was greeted by the most adorable silver fox she had ever seen. He was dressed in a simple pair of dark blue pajama pants and a Keaton Fox t-shirt, he was popular tv character back in the day... One of the few tv shows she actually liked when she was quite younger, giggling and giving the kit a hug, she ruffled his head.

"Have a good bath?" She asked.

"Yup!" Sam beamed, his ears flicking the last bit of water as they twitched. She smoothed out his fur and chuckled.

"Alright need to get in bed, it's quiet time." She motioned to his bed, causing the kit to cross his arms to pout.

"You two said five more minutes."

"Yes well..."

"...pwease?"

"Nuh-uh, the Wilde eyes aren't going to work this time." Judy chuckled, patting his head. "How about a bedtime story?"

"Oooh, can I pick?" Sam's eyes lit up, and when the rabbit nodded, he eagerly crawled into bed without even a glance at the bookshelf next to him.

"Sure, what would you like?" Judy smiled, stepping up to the shelf and ran her paws over the old books in search of one she thought he would like.

"I want to hear about how you met my Dad, the whole story about your first case." His answer greatly surprised her.

"Aw that's no fun, didn't Nick already tell you?" Judy grinned at the kit, who merely shrugged.

"I want to hear your parts. He only told me how you dragged him into it, leaving out a lot. I think...?" Sam replied, tilting his head. He was a child so he was naturally curious, more so than any other she had met so far.

It was oddly pleasing, almost like the best parts of her and Nick... If she was being honest with herself, she could only hope that Martha was proud of him for being a well behaved child from growing up as he had so far.

"Alright, fair enough." Judy took a seat next to Sam, wrapping an arm around him to hold him close to stroke his head to help soothe him to sleep as she spoke.

"Well, it all started with me becoming the first ever rabbit police officer." Judy began, earning the kit's rapt attention, who immediately snuggled up into her side with a small yawn. "I was assigned to the center of the city after passing the academy- the police school- back in the edge of Zootopia."

"Dad told me that you uh... muscled him into helping out, right?"

"'Hustle' sweetie." Judy giggled, smoothing a bit of stubborn fur on his head.

"Right, I knew that." Sam nodded.

"After my first day of parking duty, that was when I had to put tickets for parked cars, I helped catch a mastermind thief stealing a bunch of moldy onions!" Judy told him, causing Sam to giggle when she tickled him a bit for extra effect. "And, I almost lost my job because of it."

"What?! But you caught the bad guy!" Sam protested.

"Yes well, don't worry Sammy. I still have my job." She chuckled warmly. "But back then, I was too excited to be a cop that I didn't listen to to reason, like what my boss was trying to explain to me. See Sam, no matter how you slice it, I should have taken my time to get used to the city. You know, making sure I knew my place around. Instead of ignoring my own problems and going off on my own."

She sighed, smiling sadly and Sam nodded in understanding. "I had more talk than actions backing me up, Sam. I could talk about what I COULD do as a cop, not about what I SHOULD do to start with. I thought that I would never be able to prove them I could be more than a simple bunny, you know?" He nodded again.

"So... with me being stubborn, I made myself known to the Chief for a pretty bad reason."

"It's okay, you're the best police officer I know." Sam hugged her, and she returned it to him with a soft giggle.

"Thanks, and your Dad too, I hope?" She replied, and he eagerly nodded.

"So what happened then?"

"I hustled your Dad into helping me." Judy laughed, getting comfortable again with the kit.

The rest of the story passed along with plenty of laughs and giggles here and there, tiring out the poor kit from busting a gut so hard. She dumbed it down at some of the partsso Sam wouldn't have any nightmares from the more frightening bits of the story, yet most of it was kept intact as kid friendly as she could. Maybe she had been a bit too descriptive at some parts, namely where she heard Nick's backstory and her apology to him after offending him at the press conference. Yet nostalgia ran through her as she recounted the events, almost as if she were on autopilot. During those parts, Sam held her tight and said it was okay. He was quite charming and warm for a child.

Sam yawned, snuggled into her side all curled up like a cute silver ball of fluff. She stroked his head, leaning down to kiss between his ears and gently eased herself off of him. Which of course caused soft whines and snuggled up into his pillow with his little plushie he had so dubbed 'Piiko'.

Gently turning out the lamp next to his bed, leaving only the soft glow of the small nightlight next to the door, she got up and started to leave.

Only to hear something she thought she would never hear...

"...Mom?"

The bunny cop who could stare down tyrannical sheep and take on even the most hardened criminals with her quick wit, froze in her tracks mid step, her eyes widening. Turning back, she looked at Sam who simply looked at her with half lidded eyes.

"...I-I can call you that, can't I?" he said quietly.

It took Judy a few seconds to regain her voice enough to respond. "Of course you can, sweetie."

"Then um, they're having a mother's lunch at school on Monday, could you come to that? Pretty please?" Sam squirmed a bit in his bed, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I never asked before cuz... well, I didn't know how."

"I'd be happy to go." Judy smiled, she quickly stepped over to him and gave him a big hug, nuzzling him. "Get some sleep, honey, have a good tomorrow at Gradma's."

"I will, goodnight, Mom." Sam smiled widely.

Judy smiled back, quietly leaving the bedroom and left the door cracked open a little bit just in case he needed to quickly call out to Marian or leave the room.

 _"Hey, I left some medicine in my desk, could you grab it for me while you're down there, please? It's in the orange bottle in my second drawer. Thanks xoxo."_ She quickly sent Nick, while she still remembered. She looked back at the slightly ajar door, feeling a few tears come to her eyes before she wiped them away with a small sniff, things were really... she couldn't find the words, she just had a feeling. This was a life worth living.

"Just warms your heart, eh? Children." the older vixen was seated at the table, sipping on a fresh cup of tea. Offering a cup to Judy, who took a seat next to the vixen as she poured it.

"Yeah, he's certainly had a positive effect on me and Nick. I never knew that I would already be a mother at 27." Judy commented, swirling her tea with a spoon and taking a soft sip. "And to think... it pains me to think that this could have never happened if we never met."

"Never good to dwell on the 'what ifs' I always say. And already calling you 'Mama', eh? I couldn't think of anyone better to have the title from Sammy." Marian replied, sipping her own tea. Setting it down to look at the rabbit seriously. "So, back to what we were discussing before."

Judy nodded, taking another sip before setting her cup down. "I've admitted it to Sam and a friend of mine, I'm in love with Nick. I just can't seem to find the proper way to tell him, or if it's even right to dump this emotional stuff on him after all he's been through for the past month."

"Tell him outright." Marian replied simply, which Judy simply shook her head.

"Tried that, kept getting interrupted."

"Well he certainly has feelings for you. I've never seen any other couple more in love than you two are." Marian told her, causing Judy to realize Oliver basically said the same thing.

"By the way, what did you want to talk to Nick about?" Judy asked, causing Marian to suddenly grow a bit uncomfortable. "Is it about John?"

Her only answer was a nod. "I figured it be only fair to tell him the truth."

At her raised eyebrow, Marian continued and held up an old yellowed envelope. "The real reason why John left me and Nick, this was given to me by..."

Judy's jaw dropped as she read the address on the envelope.

* * *

"I'm very sorry, Officer Wilde. They couldn't wait until morning, wanted to go through the evidence while it was still fresh in our minds." Bogo grunted, opening the door to the evidence room, where he was greeted with a rabbit with black stripes on his fur and serious piercing icy blue eyes.

"Good evening, Officer Wilde." The rabbit spoke, his voice low yet deep, extending a paw with the other behind his back, exuding the aura of a gentlemammal. "Special Agent Jack Savage, F.B.I."

"Good to make your acquaintence." Nick gripped the paw with a firm shake, yet there was something off about him. Almost as if he were calculating his every move and expression, he himself had used the tactic on criminals in the past. But this was a bit unsettling, all the evidence was in the video, so why was he here?

"We just need your help ruling out all possible false leads in the death of Oliver Winston." Agent Savage cleared his throat, his eyes trained to the screen that had the bodycam footage on repeat.

"False leads? Like what?" Nick asked.

"Hitmen, serial killers, the like." Agent Savage waved a paw, scratching his chin.

"So... why am I here?" The fox asked, then crossed his arms in realization. "Wait, are you saying that I hired someone to kill him?"

"Are you speaking from the aftermath of making such a deal or hypothetically?" Agent Savage's eyes trained to the fox.

"No I'm speaking as Gazelle's agent." Nick spat back, trying to contain a growl from the accusation.

Bogo groaned, slapping a hoof to his face. "Please excuse Officer Wilde, he has a silver tongue and barely the restraint from using it."

"Duely noted." The rabbit nodded, going back to the screen and shook his head. "I meant no accusations by that, it is my job to take in all the facts and observe the chips falling where everything adds up, Officer Wilde."

"What are you hoping to find in the video? Everything is there that he had some kind of outside contact name 'Vivian'. And with all this evidence, plus what you guys found for the sniper's hideaway, it should point to an easy suspect. And what about that phone he had? Shouldn't there be any kind of evidence in it?" Nick shook his head, more than a bit agitated by the fact that he was dragged out just for a wild goose chase. He knew quite well that there was much more complicated steps to follow, but at the moment he was more annoyed they couldn't wait til morning.

"We're talking about a master hacker here. As soon as his vitals went flat, his phone auto formatted. There's not a trace of anything left, not even a single contact number or photo. As for that drive he gave you, we have not been able to hack into it yet. It may have belonged to your father, yet it was carefully encrypted by Oliver." Agent Savage sighed softly, his posture lightening a bit as he rubbed his face.

"Vivian was the name of a vixen that was in your father's group during his days as..." Agent Savage trailed off, shaking his head as if to banish some long forgotten memory. "But I digress, Officer Wilde, that was all the information I needed from you, thank you for your time."

"...That was it?" Nick raised an eyebrow. "You know something of John Wilde, don't you?"

He noticed Agent Savage purse his lips in a thin line, his expression hardening.

When he didn't speak, Nick replied. "He knew my Father, Agent Savage. It seemed like on a personal level too, I need to know what the hell he was up to after he left Zootopia."

"The F.B.I. is for apprehending high target criminals and terrorists, not for familial closure." Agent Savage replied coldly, giving a hard glare, infuriating Nick even more.

"EVERYONE knows something about my father BUT ME!" Nick shouted, baring his teeth. "Why is it such a damn secret that I can't know what the hell he was up to?!"

He grunted as Bogo held him back with a grunt. "Officer Wilde, enough."

"I would focus on getting your own house in order, Wilde. The F.B.I. will contact you if we require further assistance, for now remain on standby until notified." Agent Savage kept his eyes on the screen, not helping Nick's anger one bit.

"Understand? This is bigger than simple family. This 'Nighthowler' incident is much deeper than you realize." He looked at the fox with the same impassive expression.

"...Fine, I get it." Nick growled, turning and freed himself from Bogo and started toward the door. "Thank you for your time, Agent Savage."

"Have a good night, Officer Wilde." Nick heard before shutting the door behind himself with a sigh, frowning as he pulled out his phone, hearing the text tone go off.

 _"Hey, I left some medicine in my desk, could you grab it for me while you're down there, please? It's in the orange bottle in my second drawer. Thanks xoxo."_

"Sure thing, Carrots. xoxoxo." He texted back, chuckling to himself.

"Xoxo, really?" He muttered to himself, feeling a little bit better from seeing the text yet still agitated as he walked to her desk, jimmying the handle and pulled the drawer out. Snagging the bottle of meds, he pocketed them but pulled them back out and shook them next to his ear.

"Empty..." he frowned, turning the bottle over and looked at the name. Something with way more vowels than the alphabet itself, he typed it into his phone as he left the Station.

"The only store that has it is..." Nick stopped cold in his tracks, realization dawning on him.

"Hormone suppresants for rabbits?" Nick repeated, his eyes widening.

Did this mean...?

 **A/N: I am SO sorry this took forever to get out, I had an extreme case of writers block, worse than the others I've had so far. Coupled with trying to find another job, since my current one isn't working out as well as it used to, as well as family commitments. I appreciate everyone for the patience, stay tuned for the next.**


End file.
